Living with Stubborn Pride and Insanity
by Steal My Soul 7767
Summary: Kai and Tala are roommates. Maybe not the best of roommates but hey, they try. This is a miniseries tagging their stupid behavior and hopefully blossming friendship...Let's just see! Can they work it out or will they break it up?KaiTala FriendshipYaoi
1. I Fun with Mr Red

Living with Stubborn Pride and Insanity

Fun with Mr. Red

A bead of perspiration fell down his brow and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. He clutched the two cards in his other, staring down his opponent. His icy blue eyes fixed on the soulless others like some twisted kind of mind game. He wasn't going to back down, not when he was so close he could taste the victory.

He stared his opponent down. One more move would decide the game. Then his opponent made his choice and Tala watched in horror as the game turned and he lost.

"No! You damn crustacean! You've cheated me out of my last cash, damn you!" Tala crashed into the table as he tried to dive over and his foot snagged in the chair. He brought down the table, the deck of cards, and the playing chips.

"If you don't stop this now, I will kick you out."

Surprised, he looked up from the floor to his roommate glaring down at him.

"But Kai," He whined in a high voice. "He's changing the rules in the middle of the game."

Kai's eye twitched as he turned to Tala's opponent and lifted him up.

"Tala, you were playing Go-Fish with a lobster." He ground out tonelessly. "You lost your money to a make-believe game between you and a lobster."

"No. I lost my money to that damn lobster because he's cheating." Tala frowned and stared at Kai with a some-people-just-don't-get-it glare.

"How can a lobster cheat at Go-Fish?" Kai asked, then closed his eyes, counting to ten.

"He doesn't give me the cards and I know he has them." Tala snarled and tried to grab the lobster held aloft by Kai.

"You've wrecked my table, destroyed my cards, and drank my beer because you've played a rigged game of Go-fish with a lobster?"

The redhead nodded solemnly and then looked at the damage.

"You are so dead, Ivanov." Kai dropped the lobster and dove at him, wrapping his arms around Tala's head in a head-lock.

"Let me go! Let me win back my money. With you here, I know Mr. Red won't cheat."

"No way! I'm not going to let this continue."

"Please, Kaisy. Let me win my money back."

Kai had dropped him the minute the nickname crossed his lips. He was struggling to control his fury, running over the anger management exercises. _I'm calm. I'm at peace._

"Please Kaisy?"

"Whatever. You call me that again and I'm dropping you off the balcony." Kai walked away. The redhead grinned and happily set up the table. He stared down his opponent again and dealt out the cards and before too much time had passed…

"Damn You! That's it your going to be boiled alive and served with butter, you son of a catfish." Tala tried to dive over the table again and once more brought the entire thing crashing back down.

"Tala!" Kai's yell echoed through the room and he looked back fearfully. He really didn't want dropped 15 stories to the street below.

"Hi Kai." He chirped and watched warily as the two-toned haired guy made his way over the mess.

"Hello, Tala." _Uh-oh._ _He was dead!_ He sprung up and took off, smiling when he heard Kai trip over the chair or table…..He looked back. The Chair. "Get Back Here Ivanov!"

"Hey, Kai, just so you know, when you were last in here I kinda took your wallet and used it to get my money back but…uh…I kinda lost it. All of it." He called over his shoulder to the slate haired Russian in pursuit.

"You lost our rent money to a lobster?" Kai went pale and then he exploded "You mother fucking moron! How the hell could you be so damned stupid?!"

" I told you. Mr. Red cheats." Tala shrugged unconcerned when Kai came over this time." How about you play him and get our money back? You never lose."

_I'm not agreeing to this. No way in hell am I agreeing with this fucked-up excuse for a roommate. _He opened his mouth to tell him so. " Tala Ivanov, I am not playing Go-Fish with a lobster to win back our rent money…without a beer." he sighed. Tala gave him the puppy-dog eyes. Puppy-dog eyes were his weakness.

"Okay." Tala ran off and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He handed it to Kai and took a sat next to the stoic Russian at the opposite end of the table as the lobster. Kai groaned and took money out of their rainy-day fund and placed his bet against the lobster. He couldn't believe he was doing this. There was no way Kai Hiwatari, Bladebreaker, Demolition Boy, Blitzkrieg Boy, and G Revolutions member, was playing Go-Fish against a lobster and yet here he was. He finished off the beer and barely noticed when Tala replaced it with another.

Six broken chairs, one broken table, 18 decks of cards, 36 beers (Tala only had 9) and all their rainy-day money later, Kai was playing his last dollar against the lobster on the floor of their apartment.

Kai and Tala watched in horror as Mr. Red made a clean sweep and they lost once more. It was honestly more than a drunken, insane, homicidal person could take. Kai lunged at the lobster.

'Hell Yeah! Let's get the water boiling!" Tala cheered as Kai grabbed the lobster by the tail and then began to laugh hysterically as it clamped down on Kai's hands.

"You sorry son of a catfish! I'm going to cook you alive and serve you with butter." Kai screamed and threw the lobster against the wall.

"Kai! Tala! What the hell's going on here?!" Both turned and saw Bryan and Ian walk into their apartment.

"Hey, Guys, what's up?" Tala grinned and waved.

"Okay…Tala's wasted. Kai, what the hell is going on?"

"We were playing Go-Fish with Mr. Red the Lobster and he cheated us out of Tala's money, our rent money, and our rainy-day money." Kai explained, completely truthful.

"You're kidding me right?" Bryan took it all in with silent amusement.

"No."

"Bloody hell, Kai! How could you be so stupid? You're wasted, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm not."

"How many have you had?"

"That's not the issue."

"How many?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't know but Tala and I drank 36." He pointed to the tower of beer cans stacked in the corner.

"I don't know you, either of you. I'm not ever here now." Bryan held his face in his hands. It wasn't often both Kai and Tala got wasted and when they did, stupid shit like this always happened.

"Hey, Bry? Can we have some cash _please_?" Tala stood in front of him smiling innocently. Bryan stared at his captain, one of the most feared bladers, who was pleading pathetically.

"Yeah, Bry, just a little cash to win ours back." Kai came up and stood beside Tala, both looking at the taller boy with puppy-dog eyes. This was too much.

"No." He closed his eyes to block out the effects but nothing stopped them from grabbing his arms and tugging on them.

"Please, please, please, please."

"Get a hold of yourselves, damn it, and let go of me!" He roared. They dropped his arms and pouted. God, this was too much. If only he had a camera, yes…that would be the only way to salvage any of this.

"Fine if you're not going to give us any money, then go away. We'll have to deal with this on our own. So thank you, Bry, way to show the love." Tala was close to tears at this point. Unshed tears glistened in their team captain's eyes. He looked downright pathetic. And Bryan couldn't take it.

He grabbed Ian who was trying to steal Kai's beer. Kai was holding it up one inch above his reach and the guy was starting to get pissed.

"Aw, come on, Bry, let me stay with them. I want to meet Mr. Red…No…Mr. Red! Kai! Tala! Anyone! Save me!" Ian yelled as he was forcibly drug from the room and locked into Bryan and his apartment.

"You guys know, I'm looking for a place. Somewhere nice, you know. Spacious, affordable, the works, you know. How about we work out a deal? You let me stay here with you guys and I'll use the money to pay the rent, okay?" Mr. Red the Lobster said from the kitchen counter.

"Mi casa, su casa. You know, I've always liked you." Tala grinned and patted Mr. Red on the claw. "You're always welcome here, dude."

"Yeah, man. We'll get you set up with the works." Kai also grinned and shooed them out of the kitchen. "Now, Tala, go set him up in the spare room." His eyes glittered homicidally. Which only Tala noticed.

"We'll treat you right." Tala agreed and passed a similar look to Kai.

"We should do this more often." Tala said over dinner.

"I agree." Kai said after he swallowed. "Where'd you meet the guy anyway?"

"Wal-Mart. We were both looking at the sea food. We got to talking and I brought him over to our place."

"Any family?"

"Some." Tala nodded. "And a few family friends. They all saw me leave with him, you know."

"So, we'll have to take care of that then." Kai nodded. "We'll do that later tonight."

"I'm so glad I met him." Tala dipped his fork in the warm butter and then sighed contentedly. "We did warn him though."

"So this isn't cannibalism, right?" Kai asked as he took another bite of a very well cooked Mr. Red.

"Nope." Tala smirked coldly. "and we'll be eating this good for a few days."

They both sighed happily and Kai patted the newly-filled rainy day fund jar. Mr. Red had been cheerfully boiled alive and served with warm butter, baked potatoes and warm rolls. (Don't ask how they had time to make this…let's just assume the food fairy stopped by…) They broke in another twenty-four pack and celebrated.

"And right about now's about the time that everything went downhill." Spencer said as he started the video again after a pause. Before him were Bryan, Ian, Ray, Max, Tyson and, well, pretty much all the male bladers from two years until now. Unknown to Kai and Tala, Spencer had set up cameras in their kitchen and living room. He said it was for safety reasons but everyone knew the real reason.

It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Fortunately, it happened more often than not. And Spencer had the video library to prove it. It became a weekly custom to call together all the guys and watch Kai and Tala, the most feared bladers if not the most powerful duo, act like complete and total jackasses.

Currently, Kai and Tala were playing against Mr. Red and they continued doing that for little over an hour. Then Bryan and Ian showed up and they got to witness Kai and Tala's attempt to persuade Bryan to give them some money. They also watched the horrific, homicidal, and hilarious murder of Mr. Red.

Spencer fast-forwarded and before long, Kai and Tala returned to their apartment with thirteen lobsters and a tank. Everyone roared with laughter as the two boys began to taunt and intimidate the lobsters.

"Okay guys, what do you think? Fun with Mr. Red- rating…?"

"I'd give it an 8. Simply for the puppy dog looks." Max said from the couch.

"It was awesome though nothing beats that one last week. The one where Tala bought that parrot and named it Dranzer to piss off Kai?" Laughter proceeded as people replayed the memory.

"Or the week before that when Kai replaced all the beer in the fridge with grape-flavored vinegar?"

"The time when Tala handcuffed Kai to the balcony."

"No, it's gotta be when Kai tied Tala to the couch and refused to feed him."

"No, no, you're wrong. It's definitely gotta be the time when they watched all those horror movies and boarded up the house."

Arguments continued and laughter shared as the TV caught up to real time and the two Russians on screen were once more boiling water and peeling potatoes. Over the arguments were thin songs about mutilation and cooking that were sung to a chipper tune.

"How'd you pull off the lobster?" Ray asked Spencer.

He pointed to a microphone. "It's two way. If they were listening properly they would have heard it from around the fridge instead. It was a good thing they were wasted and didn't notice." He chuckled.

Kai and Tala wandered the next day why there were so many lobsters at their place, why all their food and beer were gone, and why "R.I.P. Mr. Red." was written on their wall in black paint.


	2. II I Dream of Genie No More

Hey! I'm gonna have a lot of work ahead so here we go with Chapter 2! Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or Beyblade characters!

Thanx shadowphoenix101! I'm trying my best!

* * *

II. I Dream of Genie No More

"Tala, I'm only gonna ask once, what the hell are you doing?" Kai glared at his roommate and turned away from the wall. He was currently attempting to remove the R.I.P. they had painted on the wall. He didn't remember how it got there, he didn't care how it got there, all he wanted was the damn thing off the god-damned wall.

His roommate though, didn't share his concern. Not Tala, oh no, he didn't care if the damn wall had "I'm gay and the 'Boys' Whore" smeared on the ugly blue paint that Kai insisted was better than the original light rose color. He was seated on their sofa, hands on his chin, elbows on his knees, with his face frowned in deep thought. The object of his obvious concern stared right back and it sure as hell wasn't giving away any of its secrets.

"There is a genie in here. I'm thinking of what three wishes I want." Came the oh-so-serious-and-unintelligent answer.

"I think someone lied to you." Kai said as he stared at the lamp. Not a genie's lamp, a regular DESK lamp. Tala must be smoking something heavy again.

"No one lied to me. I know there's a genie in here."

"How?" He was going to regret this later. He was sure of it. But damn he was curious. Still though, remember the last time he was curious? And that turned out great.

"It says so right there." Tala pointed to the sticker on the lamp's base that clearly read, "Beware for I contain a genie." Kai sweat-dropped as per his right, set down by the all-knowing-decider-of-the-art-of-sweat-drop-to-stupid-things god. And it was good.

"That sticker's lying." Kai went back to repainting the wall as Tala had no intentions of holding a serious conversation.

"You know what? I'm gonna wish for a complete personality change for you, Mr. I'm-so-moody-and-constantly-in-a-state-of-angst." Tala growled and reached out for the lamp.

"Whatever." Came Kai's concerned answer.

"Oh, great, magic, terrifying, and awesome genie, I bid you to exit your lamp and grant me my heart's desire." Add in dramatic music and somber/mysterious background. Hold for twenty seconds and then back to normal screen. And action!

"Maybe you didn't do it right." Kai taunted after nothing happened. He brushed a strand of hair away and then frowned because he just wiped paint all over his face. Luckily it was blue and matched the lovely triangles he had on his face.

"Maybe." Tala nodded and then tried again. "Oh, great genie, awake and answer your master's call!" He paused for dramatic effect but still nothing happened. "You know what? I'm gonna go look at the manual. Maybe I got the summon wrong."

And he pulled a thick, dictionary-sized manual up off the floor and began reading through it. All the while, Kai tried to figure out where the hell he laid the paint brush and then growled because he had placed it in his pouch and successfully coved his pants in blue paint. Normally, he wasn't this stupid. Tala must be rubbing off.

"Ah Ha! I found it. "When making a wish, state your wish out loud while holding the lamp and be clear. The genie will make the rest happen." Then there's some weird star but it's unimportant. Other than that sounds easy enough." Tala said as he placed the book back down and Kai walked over to him.

He leaned down and read the words over the redhead's shoulder. Sure enough, there they were in plain black and white, English print. He inadvertently scratched his neck with the hand holding the brush, smearing even more paint over his back and hair. "Oh, bloody hell."

"My first wish is that my roommate, Kai Hiwatari, had a complete and total personality switch, that he acts like his complete polar opposite." He smiled, satisfied. "How is there anyway that anyone could confuse that?"

"You actually want me to act like Tyson?" Kai growled as he found another blue paint spot on himself, this one on his hip. How the hell had he managed that? He absently turned his attention to Tala, belatedly realizing what the redhead was wishing.

"Not like Tyson. I just think you need to be a little more open with your feelings." Tala's voice had the odd, you-need-to-let-me-pick-your-brain-and-spill-your-secrets- tone. One that Kai was familiar with. One that let it be known that Kai Hiwatari preferred to sleep commando (well, it was naked but he made Tala tone it down a bit), eat only toast and the odd, pizza slices for breakfast and that he preferred Coke to Pepsi. That last one had nearly caused World War Three. Seriously. Pepsi was left in the dust once it was known.

"I am open with my feelings. Right now I'm seriously pissed and agitated and all of that's directed at you." He growled as he did another check and found a stripe of paint across his thigh. He snarled at the redhead as he stole the paintbrush. "What the hell?"

"I'm gonna make a list of all your personality flaws…" Tala began as he used the black paint that was for the trim to write on the wall opposite the one Kai was painting. He wrote them in large capital letters. "Arrogant, moody, indifferent, careless, clumsy, sensitive, overbearing, intimidating, fearless, waspish, snubby…" He trailed off. "I don't know. Give me some more."

"Tala…" Kai broke his patience and dove at the redhead, almost knocking over the lamp. He missed the redhead but caught the T.V. stand. For all the good that'll do him.

"Violent, that's a good one." Tala ran out of space at his wall as he dropped the paintbrush into Kai's lap, splashing paint all over the pants he was wearing.

"I'm not painting that wall, Ivanov. Oh no, you're doing that yourself." Kai threw the evil paintbrush at the redhead but it splattered on the wall after the redhead moved.

Tala snorted. "I'll make the genie do it. Or maybe I'll make myself omnipotent forever. Then I wouldn't even have to touch a paint brush. I'll just wave my hand and make it fixed." Tala's eyes lit with the ideas of being all-powerful. Kai sweat-dropped and stood up.

"Whatever." Kai walked over to the kitchen and Tala heard the fridge open and the microwave come on. He must be eating the spare lobster, lord knows they had enough of it.

"I'm gonna think this through with only two wishes to go. Don't you dare try and steal my wishes either, Mr. Hiwatari. I want those and if you take them I'm gonna make your life living hell."

"Don't worry about it, Ivanov. I'm not stupid enough to fall for that. Unlike you." He added in undertone as the redhead once more stared at the lamp. His eyes were closed in concentration and his hands clasped together. He looked like he was praying to the lamp.

Kai pulled the lobster out of the microwave and popped in a small bowl of butter to melt. It beeped at him thirty seconds later and he sat down at the table. He glared at the blue paint stain on his arm and then reached for he remote. He turned the T.V. on and the volume up as soon as Tala began to mutter in Russian under his breath.

_ -"And it later news, the world will be celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the classic, Star Wars. Fans are already preparing and one had this to say"-_

_ "It's so amazing that it's only been like thirty years. According to our estimates, the Galactic History will be able to properly celebrate the next 10-year anniversary in the Orbital Death Star recreation already in progress…"_

_ - "Thank you for that report. Up next, the winner of American Idol will speak to our exclusive Representative about her thoughts of Idol…"-_

Kai turned off the T.V. He didn't need this. If he wanted that kind of total mind-fuck, well, he'd just talk to Tala. Speaking of which…

The redhead sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, making the devil horns droop. He looked annoyed and frustrated. Kai could relate.

"I can't think of a single thing to wish for!" His foot stamped down and rocked the table. Kai growled and sent a warning glare at the redhead. Which was pointedly ignored. Then a hand sent his plate flying along with his bowl of butter. And the redhead took residence there.

"Ivanov!" Kai felt his eye twitch and he refrained from grabbing the Wolf by his collar and hurling him into the ruined wall.

"Kai, I can't think of anything. Tell me a good wish." He sat cross legged on the table, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"How about I don't." Kai took a deep breath and stood up. He turned his back but the Wolf attacked. He tackled Kai and caused the Phoenix to fall onto the floor with a thud, and Tala landed on top of him. Quickly moving, he grabbed the Phoenix's arms and crossed them behind his back, and sat on Kai's back cross-legged. Kai was still from shock for all of two seconds and then he began to thrash.

"Get the hell off!" His shoulders popped when he shifted and Tala felt guilty. But then he remembered and his rage came back.

"You were plotting to use my wishes! Don't deny it! I could see the greedy dreams in your eyes!" He accused the back of Kai's head. The Phoenix turned his head to glare at the blader on his back. His eyes promised retribution if he didn't move right that second.

"Tala, if you get off of me now, I'll over look this…" He stilled and watched the redhead contemplate this.

"Not until you swear that you won't use my wishes." He stubbornly said and pushed on Kai's crossed arms to make a point.

"Just remember I gave you a choice." Kai said and then swiftly pulled his arms out of Tala's grip. He pushed himself up, throwing the redhead off his back. He twirled and grabbed Tala, lifting him up against the still-wet blue wall. He held him there with one hand, despite Tala being taller and just as strong as himself, and poured the blue bucket of paint over the redhead.

Then he dropped the bucket and drugged the redhead out of their apartment and into the elevator. He ignored Tala's protests and calmly pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors ching-ed open and the residents of the ground floor were mixed between horrified and amused. The slate-haired teen nodded to the manager and the dripping-blue-paint teen screamed for someone to help him. Which nobody did after the slate-haired teen death-glared at them all.

They exited the building and Kai drug Tala to the center of the square parking lot. A few bladers were in the coffee house across from where Kai stood with a struggling Tala. They exchanged glances.

"What are they doing?" Miguel asked Garland, his head tilted to the side.

"I've got no idea either." Julia's answer came after Garland's headshake.

"Think we should ask?" Claude said after another silence.

"I think not." Brooklyn looked up from the birds he was feeding parts of his pastry to and smiled serenely at the two Russians.

They took his wise advice and stayed faraway from them. They were also very thankful that they had their identities disguised, especially when they heard a fan shriek, "OH MY GOD, IT'S THE BLITZKRIEG BOYS!!!!!"

"Please don't do this to me Kai! I'll do whatever you want just please don't do this! Whatever you want! God, don't leave me here!" Tala struggled valiantly as he tried to get away. His eyes narrowed on the crowd of shrieking fan girls stampeding towards them.

"You should have got off me when I asked you to." Kai smirked as the redhead, now bluenette, pleaded with watery eyes.

"Oh, you're holding that against me? God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm so fucking god-damned sorry! Whatever you want I'll do it, please don't leave me here!" Tala clung to Kai's arms and desperately pleaded with shiny azure eyes.

"Promise?" Kai narrowed his eyes on the temporary bluenette.

"I swear on Wolborg!" He started to feel relieved as it looked like Kai was going to show him some mercy.

"But Tala," Kai's voice lowed and the Wolf felt his heart freeze. "However will I get my revenge then?" His whispered maliciously in the other's ear.

"OH MY GOD, THEY LOOK SO CUTE TOGETHER!!!"

"THIS IS THE STUFF REALLY HOT YAOI IS MADE OF!!!"

Julia blushed at this fan girl's shriek. They had read her mind. Miguel, Claude, and Garland looked horrified, they honestly thought that the girls would be dead. Brooklyn seemed to share her mind's train of thought because he winked at her with a pleased expression.

The Russians obviously didn't hear that or any of the others because they kept arguing. Then Tala blushed under the blue paint and Kai smirked victoriously. The fan girls descended and the Wolf was captured. The Phoenix had disappeared and they had no idea where he had went.

"Good afternoon, Kai. What has been going on?" Brooklyn greeted as Kai dropped into the chair beside him, a small smile on his face.

"Tala was being stupid." Kai said around the cup of coffee Brooklyn pressed into his hand.

Now, this stunned the other four. Kai and Brooklyn had not parted on the best of terms. Far from it. Amazingly, they got along well now. They had some unspoken agreement not to bring up the bad terms apparently. Kai drank the coffee without even suspiciously looking over the contents.

"So stupid as to deserve this?" Garland pointed over to the crowd who were hysterically happy. Kai smirked broadly as one of them waved a orange, white, and blue jacket in the air.

"He should have listened to me. He knew better than to try that."

"But what did he do? I mean, what deserves that?" Julia sweat-dropped as Kai looked at her boredly.

"He didn't get off me when I gave him that choice." Came the smooth answer. Then Julia's face heated up, obviously thinking along the lines of a fan girl's earlier comment. The other three boys paled, obviously thinking along these lines but not taking it too well. Mostly because if that's Kai's revenge for that…they really didn't want to think about what he would do if Tala cheated on him…if they were a couple anyway…Brooklyn just nodded sympathetically at Tala and waved the waitress over for another pastry.

"I'll rescue him in another minute. He just needs to realize that as long he lives in my house, he has to listen to me. My team captain or not." Kai drained the rest of the coffee and took the other half of the pastry Brooklyn offered.

"That's rather cold, Kai." Miguel wanted to help, he really did but there was no way he was going out there.

"Well, I'm not exactly known for being real forgiving." Kai glared at the Gargoyle blader and pushed away from the table. He then disappeared faster than it took to blink.

"Okay then…Brooklyn." Julia looked over to the God blader and waited for him to look at her. "Just out of curiosity, how did you get Kai to forgive you if that's what he does if you don't listen to him?"

"Let's just say that I can be very persuasive…" Brooklyn smiled, knowing how they'd take that comment. In actuality, it hadn't been that hard. He had merely asked the Phoenix if he could forgive him and the Phoenix had said, "as long as you never attempt to do anything like that again and don't look at me with sorrow, sympathy, pity, or misery, then I'll pretend that that battle wasn't a cold and cruel attempt to kill me."

Then the Phoenix had clasped him on the back and let him inside, offering him a cup of coffee. It all went well after that. Just like the battle had never happened.

Kai reappeared in the middle of the fans and miraculously rescued Tala. The temporary bluenette held onto his rescuer, not caring that the fans were even more hysterical and drooly, lost in perverted fantasies.

Tala slumped against the wall in the elevator, still holding onto Kai's arms and almost sobbing in relief. The Wolf brushed aside all modesty and broke down, crying onto the Kai's shoulder, his blue hair dripping onto Kai's scarf, jacket, and neck.

"I'll never ever do anything horrible again, I swear. Just don't ever leave me there. Don't ever let me stay out there to die again." Tala's shoulders shook. He was missing his jacket, a few pieces of his t-shirt and his belt. He was terrified out of his mind. Kai felt a swell of regret and held onto the sobbing blader.

The doors opened and Kai met the eyes of the Falcon blader. The lilac blader's eyes widened as he took in the scene and the amber-eyed person beside him immediately drug them both in, slapping the close-doors button.

"What's wrong with Tala?" Bryan asked in confusion. Tala had never cried as far as he knew. Other than a few times when they were younger, and then only once again when they were older, when he had woken from that god-forsaken coma. Seeing his captain in such a state shocked him.

"Sh, it'll be okay Tala." Ray had wandered over and was rubbing the wolf on the back, slightly concerned about the blue hair and missing clothes.

"It was horrible." Tala cried even harder into Kai's shoulder and Ray continued brushing his hand over the Wolf's back.

"Jeez, Hiwatari, how bad could you possibly be?" Bryan frowned and went to stand by his captain. He didn't know how to comfort anyone really, so he simply placed a hand on Tala's shoulder to let him know he was there.

"That is not what happened!" Kai cried out, furious that anyone dared to make that insinuation.

"Well then what did happen, ass hole? What did you do to Tala that was worse than anything the freaks at the Abbey did?" Bryan narrowed his eyes as the Tiger tried to soothe the Wolf.

"He threw me out to the fan girls! And he didn't care! He left me there! After everything I swore to do, he left me there! And they kept making all these innuendos, and sex comments, and they stole my clothes!" Tala cried harder and pulled up one end of Kai's scarf to wipe at his face.

Kai looked annoyed at this then glared drolly as Bryan and Ray glared at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You know that fan girls are his worse nightmare! They're yours too! How could you be so heartless! Especially to Tala for god's sake! Your best friend, damn it!" Bryan looked ready to kill and was only restrained by Ray's hand on his arm.

"Easy, Bry. Don't worry about it. Kai'll get what's coming to him." Ray warned and Kai felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Ray was not known for making threats, especially threats directed at Kai, so that he was now, worried the hell out of the Phoenix.

"Don't worry about it. I've got it under control." Kai frowned at them and lifted Tala up when the doors opened on their floor. He had Tala bridal-style in his arms and the Wolf was still sobbing his heart out. Ray and Bryan followed him to his room, and Bryan unlocked the door when Kai looked ready to kick it down.

They took in the paint spattered living room, and made a mental note to look at today's tape when Spencer came back from shopping.

Kai sat down on the sofa and Tala sat in his arms, sobbing his eyes out still.

"Are you going to be okay Tala?" Ray sat down beside him, reaching overt to brush blue paint stained hair out of his eyes.

"I'll be okay…" He took shuddering breaths and Kai looked grateful. "As soon as Kai apologizes for leaving me…"

Kai didn't look happy about that at all and his eyes twitched. "Apologize?"

"Yes.."

"You want me to apologize for leaving you out there?" Kai's eyes fell onto the lamp on the table and Bryan swore the red eyes burned with real flames as he stared at it. "Oh, I'll apologize…As soon as you apologize for accusing me of trying to steal your bloody wishes from some dumb 'genie' lamp that you bought off some obviously stoned person, and tackling me, sitting on me, and twisting my arms."

Bryan sweat-dropped. Leave it to Tala to be the one to push the Phoenix too far. In a way, he deserved what he got, that's how Kai obviously saw it, but Bryan didn't think so. Kai should have taken into account that Tala was generally stupid like this, really oblivious to the world, at least, now that he lived with Kai. Which Bryan blamed wholeheartedly on Kai.

Ray on the other hand, scowled at Kai. "He did that, so you poured paint on him and left him to the fan girls?" He narrowed his eyes at Kai, the gold slits shining with fury. "You know, out of all the years I've known you Kai, this rates right up there on my disgusted-with-you meter, right up there with the Black Dranzer thing."

"Same here, though I want to add the first Black Dranzer incident to the traitorous act years later." Bryan said.

"Same." Came Tala's voice, muffled by the scarf.

Kai growled at them all. They were immensely thankful that looks couldn't kill. Very thankful. Kai looked at them each, looking at the temporary bluenette last. He bit his lip and a thin trail of blood ran down his chin from the effort to hold back the stream of violent curses that were threatening to erupt from his mouth. Bryan looked very wary of that.

Ray and Bryan shared a look. This wasn't good. It was highly likely that Kai would bite his own tongue off simply to spite them and die. He seriously hated to apologize. His pride wasn't going to allow anything like that to cross his lips.

Tala merely waited. He wiped his eyes with the scarf and sat back to stare at Kai. He didn't care where he was sitting or that the others were there. His azure eyes were still red and blood-shot from crying and his throat hurt from the cries he had kept down. Kai looked away from the two others and stared at the Wolf. Tala could read the guilt and regret as clearly as he could read the pride that wouldn't let him voice it. The fire in the Phoenix's eyes blazed for a while then they banked slightly, long enough for his pride to take a temporary back seat.

"I'm sorry, Tala." Came the quiet reply. He had barely moved his mouth or even raised his voice above a whisper but Tala heard it. Then the fire blazed back and he took on the cold glare once more. He dumped Tala out of his lap, onto the couch to sit beside Ray and shoved Bryan out of his way to walk top his room. They all flinched slightly as they heard the door slam shut.

"So what's going on guys?" Tala asked after clearing his voice several times to get rid of the roughness.

"Ray and I were about to come up and ask the two of you if you wanted to come out for dinner with us but since Phoenix has taken off, we'll just ask you. So you want to come?" Bryan looked down at his captain and the Tiger.

"Uh, yeah, just let me go and put on some clothes…" Tala ran a hand through his blue hair and sighed. "Do you guys mind waiting for me to take a shower?"

"Not at all." Ray stood up to stand beside Bryan. "Go on, we'll wait."

"I'll be ready in no time." Tala went to the bathroom and they heard the shower come on.

They busied themselves in various (above the belt) ways. (It wasn't their apartment so they were less inclined to mess around in another's territory.) Ray absently flipped through the genie handbook he had found on the floor and Bryan read the list of personality traits on the wall. He snorted with laughter. Tala was real stupid to buy this crap. Like the whole lobster thing, this was going to be amusing to watch.

Tala came out exactly fifteen minutes later, in a new outfit and perfectly style RED hair. The black clothes hung on his light frame, the orange stripes on the arms and legs emphasizing his thin shape. He had let his hair fall out of his devil horns and spiked it in different ways. He smiled at them and stood, resting one hand on his hip.

"So where are we going?" He asked the Falcon., who shrugged and turned to the Tiger.

"I was thinking that we go to that new restaurant down by the river. It's supposed to serve an international variety of foods." Ray placed the book back on the table and walked over to his Falcon. His fingers curled around the other's belt loops and the Falcon's arms dropped around his shoulders.

"Cool." Tala grabbed keys from a box by the door that said "Tala's Keys" and motioned for them to leave. Both did not comment at the abundance of keys in the box, Tala was infamous for losing keys. It was merely a known fact.

"So what did you do today Tala?" Bryan asked as he closed the door behind them and the redhead teen laughed and started to explain.

"Well, I was out shopping…" There were the words that truly inspired fear in the hearts of everyone who knew him. Not his battle cry or homicidal attack cry, nope, it was those five words.

* * *

Kai snarled at his ceiling and started to count to infinity. Of course. He always got stuck having to apologize to the redhead. It pissed him off to no end. Always. If he didn't have to say the words, he had to make a show of apologizing.

He crossed his arms behind his head, not caring that he was splattering blue paint on his bedspread. He had at least twenty sets of the same so it really didn't matter. He narrowed his eyes at the mirror at the top of his four-poster bed. Tala had laughed when he first came bursting into Kai's room and looked at the bed. He thought it was very amusing that Kai had a mirror above his bed. And when he told the others, he had to listen to so many perverted comments…Personally, he liked the mirror. If he practiced hard enough, one day his death-glare would shatter it and he would get impaled by a falling piece of glass…(.)

He flipped off his reflection and rolled from the bed, stripping off the jacket and scarf as he went. He grabbed spare clothes and went to the bathroom for a shower. He turned up the water as hot as it would go and began to maliciously scrub away the blue paint.

* * *

"So after I tackled him, he poured paint on me and then left me out there." Tala said after he drank another glass of Russian vodka. His chipper explanation left them both with sweat-drops on their foreheads and small smirks. They could see why Kai had been so unhappy but still…The Russian wolf was nodding to himself, completely lost in self-pity. He obviously didn't see it at all.

* * *

Kai groaned as another heat wave stole over him. He didn't feel good. In truth, he felt like someone had trashed him, gotten him drunk on Russian vodka, and then gave him the worst set of hangovers in the history of the world. He groaned deep in his throat as another one went through him and he pressed a arm against his stomach. His skin went deathly chill and then another heat wave. It had been a recurring process now for the last ten minutes. He slid down in the shower, the water off now. His panting breaths made him light-headed.

The world went black as more heat went through him.

* * *

"So where do you want to go now?" Tala asked as he put away his wallet. They had just paid for dinner and were now out by the river.

"Don't you want to go and see Kai?" Bryan asked as the Tiger leaned against him.

"Nope. He needs to cool off and I'd be bored waiting for him to come out of his bedroom." Came the answer. Tala brushed off imaginary dirt from his sleeves, looking to all the world more feminine than any male should.

"That's a good idea." Ray said, remembering the fury displayed earlier by the Phoenix blader.

"So where did she say they were going?" The voice floated over them and all three turned to see the White Tigers and Barthez Battalion making their way over to them. They only heard them because of their heightened, and cat-like, senses.

"She didn't say but it's gotta be bad. If Kai of all people wanted them…" Miguel's voice trailed off. The others mentally filled in the end. It really wasn't good.

"Hey Ray!" Lee's voice and arm wave let it be known to all that he was the one speaking. "Oh, Hey to you too, Tala, Bryan."

"What's going on?" Bryan asked, suspicious of what their earlier comments might mean.

"Kai called all the teams. He wants all the female bladers over at his place. Do any of you have any ideas why?" Claude frowned at them as he stood beside Aaron and Gary.

Tala frowned in confusion. "Don't tell anyone, but Kai's got an almost permanent aversion to speaking with females. It's weird but I can't imagine any situation where Kai would voluntarily call all the female bladers over."

Miguel's phone rang and he stepped away as he answered. "Yo, Tyson. What's up?"

They heard over the phone: "I've called everyone else around. Robert said that he's called Oliver over. Garland told me he asked for Brooklyn and Mystel too."

Miguel frowned deeper. "So all the girls, Oliver, Mystel, and Brooklyn are over at Kai's."

"Yep." Tyson's voice cut out as he hung up. That was the Dragon, short and to the point. Not. Someone must have hung him up before he began the rant again.

"So here's the situation. Julia, Ming-Ming, Mystel, Brooklyn, Mariah, Hilary, Oliver, Mathilda, Miriam, Emily and Selema are all at Kai's and we have no idea why." Miguel said as he added the new additions to the list.

"That's incredibly weird." Ray said as he stood up beside Tala. Bryan followed after and all shared a look.

"We're going over to your place Tala." The Wolf nodded at the unanimous agreement passed.

The group ran almost the entire way back to Kai and Tala's building. They piled into two elevators and rushed to the apartment.

Kai and the missing bladers were no where to be seen. Instead a note was lying on the counter, a small Phoenix statue keeping it in place. Tala went over and took the note, reading it and paling.

"Hey, Tala. I've called some people and gone out. I'll talk to you later, 'kay? See you soon, Tala-baby, Love, Kai." And Kai had dotted his 'I' with a little heart.

Bryan took the note from the stunned blader and burst out laughing. He read it aloud and they watched Tala blush profusely at the nickname. This was both amusing and creepy.

"So, you guys together or something, Tala-baby?" The Falcon taunted. He couldn't suppress the wicked smile that crossed his face, even as his Tiger punched him in the arm.

"No!" Tala whirled on the spot to glare, and barely even looking intimidating because of the blush. "We are not together! And aren't you more creeped-out by the way he signed his name than by his weird nickname for me?!"

"That's too girly for Kai to have wrote it. Maybe he had one of the girls write it?" Claude nodded and felt twinges of sympathy for the Wolf.

"See." Tala nodded repeatedly and then gestured to his living room. "He said he'll be back soon so let's wait for him here, okay?"

They nodded. Whatever Kai had going on, they would find out soon enough.

* * *

Three Hours Later…..

"Hey, Tala-baby, I'm home!" Kai burst into the apartment amid giggles and laughter. He and all the others came into the room, smiles and shopping bags aplenty. But this sight wasn't what made the bladers waiting for their return to drop their mouths open. Kai's new look was.

He had traded, apparently, his darker colors for bright red and black silks. He had a 'pirate' shirt of bright red silk on and tight leather pants emphasized his thin waist and clung to his long legs. Two belts were slung over his waist, one bright with pink and white diamond, the other white leather, spelling Stud Muffin in loopy black letters. His shirt was unbuttoned at his throat and a spiked dog-collar framed it. He had traded the blue fins for red ones etched in hot pink. A ruby cherry ear ring hung from his left ear and he had tied all his hair back into a ponytail, a few strands framing his face and falling over his eyes. It also looked like he had put mascara on his eyes to make the red appear brighter.

"Hey, Tala-babe, what do you think? Do I look great or what?!" He made a little circle, arms out and the bags in his hands swaying dangerously.

The others choked as Tala burst bright red.

"Hey guys! Guess what! We so totally did a make-over on Kai! He was like, hey come over and shop with me I need a new set of outfits, and we were like, are you the real Kai, and he was like, duh of course, and we were like, no way, and he picked us all up, and we totally went shopping!" Mariah shriek as she dropped her bags and danced, more like jumped in place, with Kai. It was a once in a life time sight. And they fell over anime-style.

"Kai has the absolute best taste in clothes! He picked out all these really cute outfits for us! And he wears dresses so well! "Julia joined them in jumping.

Kai blushed under the paint, making it all the more obvious by the new color choice. "Julia!" He said in a high pitched voice. "Don't tell them that!"

"Oh, but Kai!" This was from Emily. " You bought that one dress. And you wore it halfway through the mall. You only changed cause that last guy grabbed your ass."

Kai blushed even brighter. "Well, I showed him to keep his hands to himself. Think he's woken back up yet?" Now the sadistic smirk that spread across his face was the closest he had come to being normal.

"Uh, Kai, uh…what's going on?" Tala cleared his throat a few times to sound remotely normal.

"Well, you see, I got bored cause you left with the lovebirds," Kai stopped there to wave at Bryan and Ray and blow them kisses before continuing, "So I called all the girls and the guys with the best fashion sense, and we all went shopping. It was so much fun!"

Kai squealed with pleasure as he felt the girls hug him again. He blushed when Brooklyn, Mystel, and Oliver hugged him too. He looked more pleased with himself than ever before.

"Dresses?" Miguel asked as Mathilda came over to them, opening a bag.

"Uh huh. Kai bought us all one. He said it's for the Blading Dance that all the sponsors are gonna be holding in a few months. Kai bought a tux for it but he bought a dress too, because it was so beautiful. I mean, look at it." Mathilda took out a silver dress from the bag. Crimson flames laced up it from the neckline down and had long sleeves and a small v-slit on the side that revealed crimson cloth.

"Kai…uh…wore that?" It was hard to see masculine, breathe-without-my-permission- and-I-will-kill-you Kai in that dress.

"Uh huh. And he was beautiful." Brooklyn wrapped his arms around Kai's waist and hugged him half-heartedly. Kai blushed and pushed him away with a smile.

"Then some guys kept harassing us. Kai beat them up when he grabbed his ass and kicked the others' asses too as they kept hitting on us." Miriam scowled at the memory of all those pushy guys.

"I think some of them were gay because they hit on them too." Ming-Ming pointed to Oliver, Mystel, and Brooklyn. "And Kai again when he changed."

"So we were kicked out my mall security for fighting. Or were gonna get kicked out anyway. Kai bribed the guard to get rid of the tapes after he threatened them with his name." Selema brushed her red hair away from her face and sighed. "I don't think I've ever seen someone move that fast."

"You've obviously never have seen Tyson at a buffet table." Kai said around a blush at the praise and a frown at the memory.

"Anyway, we gave him a complete make over." Julia pecked Kai on the cheek. "Let's do it again, Kai, huh? This was fun." Kai kissed her on the cheek and then proceeded to kiss all the girls on the cheek as they gathered bags and team members. Brooklyn, Mystel, and Ming-Ming were the last to leave and the guys waited as Ming-Ming and Kai exchanged kisses.

"I'll call you all when we should do this again." Kai waved and then turned to the three people still in the room. "So, did you guys have fun at dinner?"

Bryan's mouth dropped open at the casualness Kai showed as he lifted up the dress and loving ran a hand over it. "Kai what's wrong with you? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling fine, Bry." Kai frowned. He then turned to Tala. "You still haven't answered my question from earlier. Do I look good or not?" He demanded.

Tala still couldn't answer and Kai started to look close to tears. So Ray decided to cut in. "You look beautiful, Kai."

Kai beamed. "Thank you, Ray. At least you, unlike some person, has the decency to answer my question." Kai glared at Tala, who blushed and awkwardly fumbled with the note in his hands.

"So," He sat down on the coffee table, crossing his right leg over his left and resting his hands behind him. He smiled at the Falcon and Tiger who were seated in front of him. "Where did you guys go for dinner?"

"That new international place by the river. Great food there. Maybe you'll come with us next time?" Bryan answered and rested an arm over Ray's shoulders.

"Absolutely. I'll even pay." Kai grinned as they all perked up at the thought of ordering whatever they wanted.

"So, Kai, unless you're going to model that dress for us and show us everything you've bought tonight, we're gonna take off." Ray smiled gently at the Phoenix who looked crushed that they were leaving.

"I guess you deserve some alone time…" Kai grinned again though and stood up to walk them to the door around a Tala who was still lost for words. He kissed them both on the cheek as they left and waved. "See you tomorrow!"

Tala wandered over to the couch and sat down, staring at the silver and red dress lying on the table. He couldn't imagine Kai in it. Not at all. But all those girls had said he did. Brooklyn had even said he did! The mall must have footage somewhere of Kai in the dress. And still Tala couldn't believe it.

"I'll try it on just for you if you want." He felt hot breath in his ear and jerked forward. Kai was leaning over the back of the couch and smiled coyly as Tala picked himself up off the ground.

"No, really…you don't …I'm not…you don't have to…" He knew he was blushing but he couldn't help it. This was Kai of all people!

"Don't worry, Tala. I won't. I bought a suit for the dance so I probably won't ever wear this again." Kai fingered the silken material with a look of happy depression (oxymoron, right?). Tala immediately felt regretful. Guy or not, Kai obviously loved the dress.

"You can…(cough)…wear it around here…(cough)…if you really wanted to…" He rubbed the back of his neck and Kai smiled.

"Thanks, Tala, I'd like that." He yawned cutely and went to rub his eyes but stopped. "I'm gonna go take off this paint, okay?"

He then proceeded to his bathroom. Tala walked back to the couch and looked at the dress again. He ran a hand over it and instantly fell in love with the silk. Now he understood why Kai liked it.

Their phone rang and Tala answered it. "Hello. Ivanov and Hiwatari."

"Yo, Tala-baby, what's up? I knew you and Kai were together! So how does he look? Hilary said they went shopping! Has he modeled that dress for you yet? Or do we need to send you the picture Hilary has of it?"

"Tyson! Do not call me that! We're not together! He hasn't modeled anything for me! So shut the hell up!"

"Hey Tala-baby, check your e-mail because we just sent you that picture!"

"Yeah, him and half the world! I don't care! You're not posting that on the Web! Do you realize how dead you'll be just for sending it to the other bladers?!" Hilary's voice came over the line and then the phone connection went dead. Tala paled as he pulled the lap top over to him and opened his inbox.

Kai. Looked. Hot. Scary hot but still breathtakingly gorgeous. His shoulders seemed narrower and the sleeves masked the muscles in his arms. The silk flowed over his hips and the way he stood made them seem narrow and incredibly curved. The smile he wore seemed seductive and promising. Tala's mind went down Dirty Lane and he stayed there until someone cleared their voice behind him.

He slammed down the screen and whirled on the spot. Kai stood behind him, an eyebrow raised and hands on his hips. "I thought you didn't want to see…"

"Tyson called and told me to look in my inbox. I didn't know what was going to be in it." He blushed and backed into the counter, unaware that he was trapped.

"Well, Tyson will be dead now that he's sent that photo to everyone. "Kai brushed the ponytail over his shoulder and untied the cord. It fell to his shoulders, much the same length as Tala's when it was down, but the light slate-colored parts spiked wildly without any form of control.

"So, I guess we'll have to plan for his funeral…" Tala laughed self-consciously and rubbed the back of his neck. Kai grinned and then smirked to him.

"You honestly care how his funeral will go?" Kai smirked as Tala snorted.

"Not the least but the others…" He trailed away as he realized he was staring at Kai's collarbone. A very appealing sight if not the most appealing sight. But this was Kai! His best friend and room mate! Not his boyfriend! Not even remotely close and here he was gawking like those guys must have been! Which brought more possessive feelings to his mind. How dare they hit on his Kai! But Kai wasn't his! So his whole train of thought went in a big, unproductive loop until Kai broke it.

"I'm tired so I'm turning in early. Try not to let your obvious desire for me make you do something you might regret." Kai brushed a strand of hair away from his face and then reached out to do the same for Tala. He smirked as Tala blushed as red as his hair. "Good night, Tala. Try not to dream of me."

And Kai left. And Tala stayed there, frozen in that position. He had no idea what had come over Kai. No idea. His best friend was straighter than six o'clock. There was no way he'd wear a dress and do everything they all said he had. No way. Tala repeated this like a mantra.

Kai obviously wasn't in his right mind. Tala kept that thought in mind as he went to his bedroom and tuned off all the lights on his way. He kept this thought well in mind and kept at bay all the thoughts that were way too impure about his best friend.

* * *

The Next Day….

Tala came awake to the scents of deliciously hot breakfast foods. He rubbed sleep out of his eyes and a hand through his hair. He yawned and went out to the kitchen. He was instantly back down Dirty Lane because Kai was wearing cargo pants and a frilly pink apron and nothing else. His mind traveled back to that photo he never should have seen.

"Morning Tala. What do you want?" Kai gestured to the stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage he was making then to the table that was filled with fruit, breads, and various drinks.

"Morning Kai. Why are you making so much?" Kai shrugged and handed him a plate. He took it and began to fill his plate. Kai nodded once he was finished and then went to change. He came out two minutes later in a double of the shirt he was wearing last night except blue.

Someone knocked at the door and Kai let in the Blitzkrieg, a happy smile on his face and obvious smirks on theirs.

"Morning, Tala, sleep well?" Bryan asked tauntingly as the Phoenix went back to work, humming a tune.

"Yes, I slept very well." Tala refused to blush again and stared at the T.V. doing weather reports.

"Take a plate and help yourselves." Kai called over his shoulder. The Blitzkrieg exchanged amused glances. Regardless of how much they were at ease with one another, the Phoenix was never this agreeable. They had to milk this for all it was worth.

"Thank you, Phoenix. We're so happy that you've decided to cook for us." Bryan turned his attention to the overly-pleased blader humming in the kitchen.

"I'm glad I could. You guys don't eat enough, you know?" The Blitzkrieg exchanged a look that said are-you-kidding-me? They ate as much as Tyson did on his best day. How Kai came to that conclusion mystified them. And how motherly he had sounded scared the hell out of them, even if they wouldn't admit it.

"Anyways, what are you planning to do this afternoon, Phoenix?" Spencer asked the slate-haired teen as he sat down to eat with them at the table.

"Dunno. Thought I'd go out and hang out but I've got nowhere in particular in mind." Kai sighed as he placed his face in his hands.

"Want to come out with us?" Ian said as he munched on a pancake.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked, instantly excited.

"The extreme sports complex down by the mall. We were gonna do the rock climb and endurance track. See if we could beat our old scores." Spencer said as he stood up with his plate. Kai was on him instantly, taking the plate and cup and going to the sink.

"Sounds fun. I wanna go. That means you're going too, Tala."

Tala, who had been eating a warm cinnamon roll, choked and coughed as he heard that. "What now? How does you're going equal my going?"

"Cause I don't trust you here by yourself." Came the snappy answer from the kitchen over the running water.

"Fine, fine, whatever." Tala sighed.

"Somebody's whipped…" Ian said lowly. The other two laughed as their captain sputtered.

"I am not!" He proclaimed, slamming his fists on the table. They smirked at his red face and Kai's question, "Not what?"

"Nothing, Phoenix. The Wolf just is spewing nonsense." Spencer drawled and turned is attention to the T.V.

"Right. Go get changed Tala. Then we'll leave." Bryan took his plate to the kitchen and Ian pushed Tala out of the room in direction to his bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Tala left in protest as he was marched from his apartment between Spencer and Bryan. Kai and Ian led the way, happy smiles in their faces. They arrived at the place, To The Extreme, twenty minutes later, after a ride in Kai's limo.

"Welcome back, boys. Here to put the competitors in their place?" The guy at the reception desk asked as he recognized their Beyblading sponsorees. He waved to the dual-haired blader in front. "Hey, Hiwatari, gonna beat the old record?"

"Yo!" Kai waved at him, shocking the man to an inch of his life. Kai never answered anyone. "I'm gonna blow them away! Cheer for me, 'kay?"

The other four sweat-dropped as they heard the man stutter a reply. Maybe bring Kai to a public place wasn't such a good idea. Kai waved at everyone he passed and complimented the others as they tried the various exercise courses set up. Many were so shocked that they were just staring open-mouthed at him.

"Okay. So what's the time I have to beat to get the high score on this?" Kai gestured to the mountain rock climb wall.

"We've done it in less than five minutes. You've done it in under four." Bryan said as he fastened the safety harness around himself and waited for Kai to do the same.

"Right." Kai looked more like himself as he prepared to battle the wall. His hands flew to the nearest hold as the clock started and he managed the wall with practiced ease. He nimbly moved up the wall, reaching the top and slapping the button in three minutes forty-five seconds. "Oh yeah! I kicked your ass! Take that!" Kai did a little victory dance and then cried out as he lost his footing and fell.

He grabbed a hold and then pulled himself back up, grinning sheepishly at Bryan when the Falcon cocked an eyebrow. He laughed self-consciously as they made their way down the wall. Kai blushed as Tala helped him remove the harness and Bryan and Spencer exchanged evil, knowing glances.

"So what next?" Kai asked as he tossed off the helmet to the shooting range they had just tried. He, by the way, made bull-eye's on each and every target. He was practically glowing with pride.

"Last, we do the endurance run." Ian was full of pride too. He had made perfect scores along with the Phoenix.

"Awesome, what's the high score on that?" Kai brushed his hair back and absently began tracing the triangles on his face.

"Well, you and Tala are actually tied in that one." Spencer took the helmets passed to him and hung them back up on the wall.

"What? No way!" Kai looked real surprised at that.

"Don't think I can keep up with you?" Tala asked coldly. His pride had just been insulted. Kai's weird behavior or not, no one insulted him and lived to tell.

"Exactly. Got it in one. Guess you're not as stupid as you've been acting." Kai said with an equal amount of ice.

"Oh, lover's spat." Ian said quietly to the other two. They smirked as Tala blushed lightly and glared at them.

"Get your minds out of the gutters. Let's go." Tala cut them off before they could get the ball moving.

The endurance track spread out before them, taking up most of the building. It had all the similar training instruments they had had back at the abbey so it wasn't too difficult. They liked this place plenty because of it's similarity. Not that they missed the Abbey, hell no, they just had all developed a love for challenges and this one was one of the best. Other than blading.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Wolf." Kai took his place at the starting line. He had put on all the protective equipment with looks of scorn. It was a precaution, not that the Phoenix cared. Tala stood beside him, waiting for the clock to start.

"Just try to beat me, Phoenix." Tala and Kai took off, making their way through the maze of rope and boards that were their first obstacles. They did well, executing all the proper moves to complete the track. They only slowed down when they reached the water. Neither bladers element especially loved water, so they had to skip over the aversion they had of the sneaky pale liquid.

Kai had tied with Tala in the end and both were panting too hard to even start an argument. Then Kai had doubled over in a groan and the others were instantly at his side.

"What's wrong?" Spencer's voice flooded through the pain and Kai lifted his head.

"Don't know. Happened yesterday too. Just hope I don't…"And he blacked out right into Tala's arms. Who immediately looked horrified. Kai. Never. Fainted. He never had. It had made the superiors back at the Abbey both furious and mystified. It was human nature to faint. But apparently none of them had told Kai. Tala wondered which idiot had informed the Phoenix of this because he was now doing something considered abnormal for him.

"We're leaving." They stripped the gear from Kai and Tala dropped his on the ground as well. They sprinted from the building and called Kai's limo. Hospitals wouldn't help so they did the smartest thing possible, they took him back to the apartment.

"We'll need cold compresses. Lots of cold compresses." Spencer had to pull away from the two bladers. Kai was radiating more heat than a forest fire. Tala was only spared because his element was the polar opposite (a little joke -). They piled ice and ice water into and onto the Phoenix and were worried as the Phoenix groaned and twisted.

They had managed to chill him down and very slowly, they eased Kai into the couch instead of Tala. Kai rolled away from them and his breathing went even.

"What the hell caused that?" Bryan took a worried inventory of the blader.

"Can't have been the track. He does that too often for it to have caused anything. Maybe he got sick?" Ian was watching Kai, looking for signs of illness.

"He said it happened yesterday. He didn't seem sick at all. Except for the weird behavior." Tala reminded them.

"Yeah. It sucked then too by the way." Kai's voice cut through their thoughts and he sat up, rubbing his stomach angrily. "So are you just gonna stare or get me some damn water?" He glared at them, the bright crimson matching the fires of his Phoenix bit-beast.

"R-right. Here." Bryan pressed a glass of water into Kai's palm and the Phoenix downed it in a few gulps.

"Whatever happened yesterday, I suggest you forget it. I don't have any clue why I acted like that, I won't act like that again, and any reminders of that from any of you and you will meet fires much worse than those in hell." Kai placed the glass on the table with deliberate care.

"Consider it blanked from memory." Spencer promised. Like hell it would be. He watched the video just this morning and had never seen either his captain or the Phoenix so weird. He was keeping them for far longer then one night.

"Now leave." Kai gestured for the door and they left. Tala stayed, knowing full well that now that Kai was back, he was going to give him hell. "What exactly happened yesterday?"

Tala stared. "You don't remember?"

"Bits and pieces. Nothing too comforting." Kai mostly remembered the trek through the mall and the meeting after. Not much beyond or before that.

"Do you remember the…uh…the…(cough)…" Tala rubbed the back of his neck and trailed off, not sure if he wanted the Phoenix to remember the whole dress thing.

"The dress?"

Now there went all his hopes, dreams, and living past this conversation. "Yeah."

"Very clearly." Came the dry answer. "Now, what else?"

"The girls, the photo, the…." He trailed away again. He didn't want that memory resurfaced. Kai was scary enough now. If he remembered that he had hit on Tala, which he did completely, then Tala would never be able to handle it. He would lose his best friend.

"I remember the girls. What photo?" Kai frowned at that particular blank spot in his memory.

Tala just gestured to the lap top. Kai got off the couch and went to the counter. He opened the screen and then, "What the fucking hell?!" and Tala flinched.

"Tala! Where the hell did this come from and how do I get rid of it?" Kai sounded terrified.

"It's too late for that. Tyson…He sent it to everyone already…" Tala flinched when he heard glass break and took a wild guess. He turned. Yep. The kitchen would never look the same without the delicate stained glass phoenix and wolf template.

"When I see him, I will kill him. His death will be so long and painful, it may take days, if not weeks, to finish." Kai's voice made the hair on the back of his neck rise. He took a wary look at Kai and noted that the Phoenix was staring at the door. Seconds turned to minutes before Kai turned to look at Tala.

"Where is that genie book?" Kai asked without mockery or, well, any emotion.

"There." Tala pointed and the shorter blader passed him to pick up the book. He flipped through pages and read.

"That weird star, Tala, is an asterisk, by the way. You follow it to a generally important note." Kai tuned back a few pages. And he read, "When making wishes that relate to changes in a person, be as specific as possible. For someone to act their emotional polar opposite, you must state as thus. If simply stated as polar opposite, the person in question will act like the opposing gender."

Tala's eyes widened. His wish had worked. It had worked! It had worked! He stopped this internal celebration….Wait….If it had worked, then he was the one responsible for Kai's behavior. He was the one who had ultimately put Kai in a dress. And the Phoenix knew it.

"Kai…I…" He paled as the Phoenix stood up, the book falling from his lap.

"No, Tala, I believe we are beyond an explanation." Kai walked over and stared at the redhead. "I've just got to plan you're funeral…"

"But…" His pride went and dominated his next action. "I'd like to see you try it, Phoenix boy. You can't beat me." He glared down his nose at Kai.

"So misguided, Tala." Kai frowned and glared back. "I'll let you squirm before I place the noose around your neck." Kai's eyes were chips of red fire and he arrogantly strode to his bedroom. "Later, Tala-babe."

Tala whirled to face him at the nickname, his face heating uncontrollably. Kai, the normal, mostly-sane, Kai had just called him that. He was now officially terrified. So he barricaded himself in his bedroom. He wasn't leaving the shelter it provided until Kai was calm enough to rationalize with. That would be awhile.

* * *

"Hey, Kenny, have you seen Tyson today?" Kai stood in the doorway, effectively blocking escape from the dojo.

"N-no, K-Kai, I-I h-haven't s-seen h-him." Kenny wasn't sure if it was scientifically possible to radiate black, visible aura like Kai was currently doing.

"Then, I'll wait for him to come home…" Kai removed himself from the doorway and took up residence on the roof, vanishing from sight. Tyson was going to die today….of that, Kenny was certain.

"Hey, Chief!" Kenny looked up from his work and stared in horror. Tyson was back…He made quick gestures from him to run away and fast. Kai was going to strike any second. "Hi to you too, Kenny. Jeez! Relax, dude."

"I don't think that he's waving hello." Max said as he looked around the Dragon. He frowned as Kenny gestured to the roof and he looked up. Then, he paled and froze. Ray had stopped following long ago, reaching the conclusion faster than the Turtle. Hilary stood beside Ray, a look of pity on her face. This was going to be bad…

"Welcome home, Tyson." Kai had dropped from the sky like a shadow. Tyson had immediately stopped and his eyes widened in pure terror.

"K-Kai!" He turned on the spot. Kai's black aura scared the hell out of him. "H-How's it going buddy?" He laughed sheepishly.

"Tyson, I think I'm going to teach you a lesson in manners." Kai grabbed the Dragon by his jacket and lifted him up so they were at an even eye-level. "You do Not send private pictures to half the damn world! Any of those end up in the hands of the media and you will suffer far worse than you will today."

Kai then proceeded to beat the hell out of Tyson and when he finished, Tyson was a twitching mass on the floor. Kai snapped a picture with his phone, nodded to the others, and told Hilary to patch him up so he would be ready for training.

* * *

The bladers all then received a rather threatening e-mail that made them all wish they had never seen the picture. Deciding that Kai's threats to erase it from memory were taken into consideration, they all promptly sent condolences to the Dragon.

* * *

"Tala, you can come out of your room now. I swear I'm not going to kill you." Kai knocked on the door. He hadn't seen Tala at all today, or last night either. The Wolf had effectively barricaded himself in and Kai couldn't break down the door if he wanted to.

"No way! You're lying! You are going to kill me!" Tala's voice had hysteria and fright mixed in.

"I swear on Dranzer that I'm not going to kill you. You need to come out!" Normally, Kai didn't give a damn what Tala decided to do, but he was concerned. His captain never acted this way, not even when he was scared.

"Promise?"

"I promise." Kai heard the sound of something heavy being pushed aside and sweat-dropped. Tala could be so stupid.

"Don't kill me." Tala opened the door and warily looked over the Phoenix. He seemed calm enough but he was Blitzkrieg. They made fast, violent attacks patented.

"I'm not." Kai left the doorway and went into the living room. "Just promise me something."

"Anything! Just please, please, please don't kill me!" Tala followed, almost worshiping the ground the Phoenix walked on if that was what it took to soothe any ruffled feathers. (-)

"You will Never Ever make any wish like that again." Kai dropped the book into Tala's lap and the Wolf stared at it stupidly. "You will also read the damn manual from front to back."

"You aren't going to take my wishes?" Tala stared up at the Phoenix, confusion written all over him.

"Their yours, Tala, not mine. Just be careful damn it."

And that's as bad as it got. He wasn't going to cry…He wasn't! But…Kai had been so forgiving! He didn't care! His life had been spared! Tala brushed away the moisture that had formed around his eyes. He was going to do whatever the Phoenix wanted and never do anything stupid for the rest of his life.

"Kai!" Tala broke down in relief and sagged against the couch. "Thank you!"

Surprised, Kai looked up from his seat on the couch and stared at Tala. The Wolf was practically radiating happy and all of that was directed at Kai. Tala had never been in a whole lot of trouble. Nope. Sure he had been the idiot to make the wish but Kai still felt guilty over the whole abandoning thing. He owed it to Tala. He had been more angry at Tyson for sending that embarrassing photo to everyone they knew.

"You're welcome, Tala." Kai said after the redhead had refused to move until he was acknowledged. The Wolf sat beside him, opening the book and beginning to read the entire thing just like Kai had said.

After a while, Tala was too immersed in the rules and odd phrases in the book to notice that he was alone. Or that the entire apartment was empty. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was sitting in a silent room with only a lamp on. And he didn't notice any of it because when Kai says read, you read. When he says jump, you ask how high. That's how it worked. Well, in theory and through intimidation anyway.

Kai had left. He decided to go order out for supper so he had called and placed an order and left to go pick it up. He had decided that while he was out, to go and check on his house. The mansion they had to vacate because the idiots, Ian and Tala, along with those sadists, Spencer and Bryan, decided to see if they could create an earthquake by clogging all the toilets and making the water system burst. And they succeeded in bursting all the pipe lines and blowing up his front fountain. So they had to vacate the premises for a while. 'A while' meaning at least half the year so it could all be replaced. What could he say, the pipes in the old place were way old, so he had them merely refit the entire thing with new ones.

So he checked on it. He was pleased that half the pipes were in and the fountain was nearly completed. So he just picked up the food at the restaurant and headed home. He came back to his apartment and was pleased to note that everything was back in place, except for the wall that still had all his personality flaws written on it and well, the puddle of blue paint on the floor, but all in all, it was the same.

"Hey!"

Kai smiled as he placed the food on the counter and took plates out of the counter. He began to spoon it out between two plates and looked up innocently when Tala burst into the room.

"You knew!" Tala yelled at the top of his voice. "You knew I only got one wish, didn't you?! That's why you didn't care! And you made me read this entire thing!" He threw the book into the other room and whirled back on Kai.

"I knew." Kai handed him a plate, uncaring that Tala was furious. "I also know that if you want to keep living here, you'll finish eating and get started painting the wall you destroyed."

"I knew you couldn't be so nice." Tala muttered as he ate the food. "I just knew it. I expect that you want be to clean up the paint on the floor too, don't you?" He said snidely.

"I'll clean that since I made that mess." Kai shot him a peeved glare and then turned on the T.V.

"I can't believe you knew and you still made me read that." Tala repeated.

"Reading's good for you." Came the bored reply.

"Reading's good for you." Tala repeated in a high, girly voice. He snorted nastily and glared at the T.V.

"Just be grateful that I didn't kick you butt like I did Tyson."

"Just because you kicked that jelly dragon's fat butt doesn't mean you could kick mine, oh-great-almighty-one." Tala shot back, pleased to see that he was irritating the Phoenix.

Kai's eye twitched but he kept his composure. He knew the Wolf was trying to annoy him. But he didn't care (-.- ,…right) It was annoying. Very annoying. So he tightened his hold on the fork and focused all his attention on the television set.

Their fun, dinner time was interrupted by a knock on the door. Both refused to move to answer it. They glared at each other before the knocking was so insistent that Kai got up to answer it anyway. He ripped the door open and the person backed away in fear because of the flames that were glowing in his eyes.

"Hey, um, we were wondering if you guys wanted to come out with us, but since you're obviously so busy, we'll just be going…Bryan! We're leaving!" Ray stammered. He had a few guesses at what was irritating his captain but he didn't want to stick around to ask why. That is, if his lover started moving, he wouldn't be. Unfortunately, the Falcon wasn't moving. He was ruffling through his pockets in search of something.

"Bryan, Ray, we're a little busy right now. Come back at another time." Kai went to close the door but Tala had appeared to block it. "Tala!"

"Shut it, Kai." Tala snapped. "Just because you're PMS-ing doesn't mean I am."

Bryan snorted lightly as Ray masked his own snort by covering his mouth with his hand. Tala cocked an eyebrow at the Phoenix and then yawned, turning his back to him. That was the worst thing he could have done apparently because Kai's grip on the doorknob tightened and they heard crushing metal. They wisely chose not to comment.

"I'm not the female in this situation, Tala." Kai snarled and Tala abruptly dropped his hands from his hips. He blushed as he realized exactly how feminine he had looked and stared pointedly away from Kai. The Phoenix smirked triumphantly until Bryan found what he had been searching for and pulled it out. Kai's smirk vanished and he went pale until the shark fins.

"Are you so sure, Kai?" Bryan was holding a big photo. And if you can't guess what photo would terrify Kai within an inch of his life, then I'm not going to say. "And Spencer has about a hundred of these…"

Kai snatched it faster than Bryan could move to hide it. He crumpled it in his hands and glared at Bryan, a small blush on his face. "What do you want? I'm assuming this is blackmail."

Bryan shrugged. "Just don't kill Tala. We'll let you know if we think of anything else." He locked arms with his boyfriend and left a blushing Tala and fuming Kai in the hallway.

Kai let Tala back into the apartment as he slipped around the furious Phoenix and made straight for his computer. He opened it and immediately erased the photo off the hard drive. Kai shut the door with a raging throw and stalked into the living room. He began channel surfing without stopping.

"Uh…Kai…? If it's any consolation, I'm sorry I made the wish…" Tala cautiously walked into the room where the Phoenix was killing the remote. Kai stayed silent. He stopped flipping through channels to un-crumple the photo still clasped in his hand. He smoothed it out on his knee and then held it up. He stared at it with an emotionless mask and then sighed.

"The only consolation here is that I look damn good…" He then dropped the photo onto the table and smirked at Tala. "You think so too, right, Tala-babe?"

Tala woke up the next morning, curious as to how he had gotten to bed. The last thing he remembered doing was fainting. Oh, well. There were some things he didn't want to know. Not at all.

But he was never, ever going back to that damn Arabian store with that swindling cut-purse bastard who lied and cheated him our of two wishes. Or ever make the mistake of wishing for Kai to be anything but scary-as-hell, more-arrogant-than-a-fucking-god, bow-before-your-master-and-ruler, Kai. Tala shuddered. Whatever Kai was going to do to the others when he got those photos back wasn't going to be pretty. He'd have to call later and get the tombstones ready. _Friend, Blitzkrieg Boy and Blader. We will always miss you. They were taken too soon. Don't piss off the Phoenix._ Or something to that effect.

* * *

Review! Please! Give Me Your Input! I welcome whatever you've gotta say!

-Steal My Soul 7767 !!!


	3. III I Asked You to Prove It

Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy! Please!

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade...But I own this story...But I'm borrowing the characters..

* * *

III. I Asked You To Prove It…

He so wasn't going to ask. Nope. He valued his life. Really treasured it. That's why he decided not to ask. He just put his head down and kept walking. Kai paused in what he was doing and watched the Wolf walk past, head bowed and eyes averted. Shrugging, he went back to finger-crocheting the blue and red piece of yarn.

"No I don't know what he's doing now…What you mean ask?!" Tala typed after reading the last message from the Falcon. "I am not a scaredy-cat!"

"Well then go ask!" He glared at the computer screen.

"Why don't you call and ask him yourself?!"

"I can't do that. He'll get suspicious."

"Suspicious of what? What are you doing?"

"Just don't let him leave for a few hours. Then, I'll call and let you know the next stage." The Falcon signed out and Tala was left staring at the screen. Totally and completely confused over what he'd have to do for the next few hours.

"Hey, Kai, what do you want to do? I'm bored." Tala resigned himself to his fate. He really didn't want to be the one to cage the Phoenix. Not even for a few hours.

"I don't care what you do Tala. Just don't annoy me." Kai tuned the channel and watched in interest as the spokesman demonstrated the miracle-wax. "Wow, that's so cool."

Tala looked at the television in disbelief. That was a complete fake. Was Kai serious? "Are you kidding me?"

Kai looked up at the Wolf. "What am I kidding about?" He frowned in confusion.

"That stuff. It's a complete fake." Tala sat down beside him.

"How can you tell?" Kai tuned back to the T.V. He stared at it and then growled. "How the hell can you tell it's a fake?"

"I don't know. I just can." Tala growled and quickly defended himself. It looked completely fake. How could Kai not see that?

"Liar. How can you tell?" Kai dropped the yarn and turned his attention to Tala.

"Just watch the screen. He's pretending." Tala pointed and Kai watched.

The Phoenix huffed and growled as he started to see what the Wolf was talking about. Tala raised an eyebrow and looked over the Phoenix slightly worried.

"Kai? Did you smoke something today?" He looked him over again, worried that he missed something. If the Phoenix was losing his eyesight…Or worse. Kai did look pale. Tala stood up, grabbing the Phoenix's arm and checking his pulse. Kai started trying to wrench his arm away as Tala counted heartbeats. Normal.

"Damn it, Tala! Get off! Go jump somebody else!" Kai wrenched his arm away and Tala grabbed his face. He made Kai look him in the eyes so he could see if the pupils were dilated.

"Get over yourself. I'm not jumping you." Tala explained calmly as he checked Kai's temperature. "I'm seeing if you're sick. There's gotta be something wrong with you…"

"Wrong with me?!" Kai roared and Tala began to think about retreating. Kai snarled and managed to get an arm between himself and Tala. He pushed back and grabbed Tala by the collar of his shirt and pushed. Tala didn't let go so they both fell forwards, Tala slipping and falling sideways, dragging Kai with. Kai cursed loudly and hissed through his teeth as he back hit the table and he fell to the floor.

"Oh my God! Kai!" Tala landed on him, knocking the breath out of the Phoenix and he jumped up. Kai stayed where he was, hissing through the pain.

"Well, there bloody well is something wrong with me now!" Kai snapped and growled at him. Tala felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He moved forward to help but Kai stood on his own.

"I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have moved!"

"Me?! I shouldn't have moved?! You're the idiot who started this! Something wrong with me, of all things!" Kai snarled and clutched his side and part of his back in pain. "If you're going to make passes, think of better excuses and don't injure the person, for heaven's sake!"

Tala blushed and stared at the ground. "L-Let's just check your side." He cleared his throat and gestured to the couch.

Kai curled his lip at the thought and nodded arrogantly. Tala grabbed the first aid kit and came back into the living room. He motioned for Kai to take the shirt off and opened the kit up. He winced at the bruises on the skin. They were bright red and were rapidly turning purple and black.

He made Kai lie down and he felt the area around the bruises. He found a cut from where the table corner caught him and the ribs felt like they were bruised. Kai hissed a few times but otherwise, he didn't make a sound as Tala checked it out.

"You've got a cut here and they're bruised. Your ribs are, anyway." Tala sat back and reached for the first aid kit.

"I'll add that right on the list. After bruised pride and temperamental disposition." Kai shot as he groaned in his throat. This severely sucked. "You're an idiot, Tala."

"I know, I know." Tala didn't argue. He knew he was this time.

"Don't forget it either." Kai sat up a little so Tala could wrap a bandage around his torso. He watched in disinterest as Tala leaned over and carefully checked it over to make sure it was tight enough.

"Too tight?" Tala queried and looked up at Kai from the kneeling position on the floor.

"No." Kai snorted and reached for his shirt. "Anything else, Tala? Can you think of something else that may be wrong with me to give you a chance to check me out?"

"Get. Over. Yourself." Tala said after the blush faded. "I'm not checking you out. You're not even check-out-able."

Kai lifted a brow and looked down. "Right. Tell that to me some other time when you're not staring at my chest."

Tala blushed as red as his hair He had so been caught. But he was staring for a good reason. He was checking for any signs that Kai was cutting. That was what he had been doing. But he couldn't say that either. Not if he wanted to live. Come to think of it…He was having to do a lot of things to make sure he didn't ruffle the Phoenix.

"Are you going to get up or what?" Kai pulled the shirt back on, wincing as he stretched his side. Tala was still crouched on the ground beside the couch, a frown on his face.

"I'm gonna stay here…" Tala slumped forward and pressed his forehead against the couch.

"Whatever." Kai walked toward the door and grabbed his keys off the counter. Tala's head came up when he heard keys jingle and then Kai was opening the door.

"No!" Tala ran after him, grabbing him by the arm and spinning him away from the door. Kai lost his footing briefly and crashed into the counter slightly. His hip hit a cabinet door and he hissed again. Tala slammed the door shut and pressed his back against it so Kai couldn't bolt. He winced when Kai hit the counter though.

"Tala! What the hell!" Kai slumped into a bar stool and glared daggers at the Wolf. "What is wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Of course not! Kai, I'm so damn sorry!" Tala threw the dead bolt and rushed to Kai. Tala lifted up one end of the shirt and winced. There was a knob shaped bruise on his back, the entire shape starting to turn mottled colors. "Let me put a bandage on it."

"If your mission today was to make it so I couldn't walk without wincing," Kai said as he shifted his weight onto the other side so he wasn't stepping with his injured side fist. "Then you are succeeding."

"I'm sorry." Tala lifted the first aid kit as he helped Kai lie back down on the couch. He taped a bandage on after placing antiseptic cream on the bruise. He frowned at the Phoenix as he rolled onto his uninjured side and began channel surfing. "Why are you doing that? I thought you told Tyson to stop because it was annoying."

"I'm doing it so my fingers don't just "happen" to find themselves wrapped around your throat and you just "happen" to pass on to the other side." Kai glared again and smirked at the Wolf.

"Okay then." Tala cleared his throat and sat down on the floor. His head cushioned on the couch and he lazily watched the T.V.

"Move down here." Surprised, he turned to look at Kai who was motioning him to move over. Kai frowned and repeated the motion. "Move over here."

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes. Kai was probably planning on strangling him. There was no way he was going anywhere.

"I said move over here." He reached over and grabbed a strand of Tala's hair, tugging him over. Tala moved so that the pressure Kai was using to drag him over ceased. He was seated on the floor in front of Kai, half lying and half sitting.

"What did you want?" He snapped, rubbing his scalp. Kai could have said please.

"Just stay there." Kai reached past him to flip through channels again and stopped on the infomercial channel. "Is that fake?"

Tala looked up to see someone use a knife to cut a concrete block and a smaller version of the same knife cut through a tomato. "Are you kidding me? Can't you tell?"

"You're the all-knowing one here. Prove it." Kai made him look at the T.V. and then poked him on the back of the head.

"Okay…The knife that does the food stuff is real. The other ones, they're the fakes." Tala swatted the hand away as it poked him a few more times. Kai persisted and flipped to another infomercial.

"This one real or fake?" Kai made him look at more demonstrations of food things. There was a chopper on this channel.

"Real. But not on the stone-to-powder part." Tala leaned back into the couch and waited. It was rapidly looking like he was going to be doing this for the rest of the afternoon. Kai changed the channel. Now they were watching a commercial about Tempurpedic mattresses. They did their infamous wine-glass test.

"Real or fake?" Kai poked him on the back of the head and then twined his fingers through the red. Tala frowned and ignored the Phoenix watching the commercial.

"Real." He said after a bit of time. He pressed his back against the couch, lying down against it completely now.

"No way." Kai ran a hand through his hair and then repeated the gesture, like he was petting a dog. Which peeved Tala greatly.

"I'm not a damn dog!" Tala snapped after Kai had repeated it a few more times. He growled, oblivious as to how dog-like he was acting, and tuned to glare at Kai. The Phoenix's eyes were half-lidded and he yawned.

"You're just a big fluffy dog, Tala." He said and returned to petting the redhead. He yawned again and his rhythmic motions slowed down. Tala frowned slightly and made to move away, but Kai's hand fisted in his hair so he stayed where he was.

"Remind me to buy you something that you could do this to. Like a cat, a dog, or a stuffed animal." Tala growled as Kai kept petting him. He slouched into the couch, content to let Kai do this as long as it kept him in the apartment. It felt good…Scratch that, it felt really, really, awesomely, so-damn-relaxing good. So he leaned back into Kai's hand and knew when the Phoenix fell asleep by the sudden stop. So Tala was losing that good feeling.

He made to move but Kai's hand fisted on reflex. He was stuck there. He snagged the remote and turned down the volume. He changed channels a few times, stopping on some movie he was only vaguely aware of. He let his own eyes drift down and let himself float between being awake and falling asleep. He was drifting. So to speak.

* * *

Kai opened his eyes and looked down at the Wolf. Tala was blissfully oblivious now. He repeated the motion of petting Tala a few more times and slowly sat up. He barely made a sound and after a little bit, he was completely silent. He swung his legs over and slid down the couch to avoid stepping on Tala. He continued to stroke Tala's hair and the redhead fell asleep with a contented growl.

Smirking, Kai slid his hand out of Tala's hair and made his way out of the living room and toward the front door. He cast one last suspicious look at the Wolf and opened the door. His side and back were still aching from the psycho's crazy antics.

"Later." He left and shut the door silently behind him.

* * *

Tala came awake to the phone ringing. He curled up into the couch and ignored it. "Kai…Could you answer it?….Kai…?" Tala opened one eye to look at the Phoenix who was ignoring him. Or would have been ignoring him if he had been on the couch. Frowning, he shakily got off the floor and walked to the phone, stretching as he went.

"Yo, Bryan. What's up?" He recognized the Falcon's voice and yawned again. He had no idea why he gave up sleeping in the afternoon.

"So, Tala, are you ready for the next stage?" He blinked.

"What next stage?"

"The next stage for our plan. And don't even ask what plan because I already told you. Remember? Keep Kai in the apartment and I'll call you. Any of this ringing any bells?"

"Right. That plan." Tala started looking around for signs of the Phoenix, doubt in his voice. Bryan must have heard it.

"He is still there right? Please tell me that he's still in the apartment, Tala." Bryan's voice was conveying his anger and worry. Kai could not be on the loose.

"He's gotta be. I'd have felt him get off the couch. He fell asleep, for god's sake." Tala started walking, thankful for the cordless phone. "He still had a hand in my hair. I would have felt him leave." He muttered.

"Tala? How exactly did you keep him there?" Bryan sounded weird and amused.

"Huh?" Tala wasn't paying any attention in his search for the Phoenix to the Falcon. "What did you say?"

"Never mind. We'll talk about this later."

"He's not here." Tala said frantically. He ran through all the rooms again and then began to pale. Kai had flown the coop! ( : p...heh…) "Bryan, he's not here!"

Tala ran to the apartment door. Kai's keys were missing and there was no sign if he had left recently or not.

"How could you let him get away?! Hell, Tala, we're fucking screwed now! I can't believe this! Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"We'll think of something, Bry." Ray's voice drifted over on the other end of the line. He was trying to ease the Falcon but it was easy to tell that he was set on edge too.

"I'm sorry…" Tala's apology was cut short as a siren started going off in the building. "What the hell is that?!" He yelled over the phone. He could hear and echo of it wherever Bryan and Ray were.

"Fire alarm!" Bryan yelled back. "Get out of the building! This cheap place will light like a box of matches!"

Tala ended the connection and ran back into his apartment. Yeah, yeah, fire safety, blah, blah, but he had to get Wolborg. There was no way in hell he was leaving his Bit-beast in a burning building. He grabbed his blade and launcher and decided to make sure Dranzer wasn't in Kai's room. Not seeing the Phoenix, he made his way down the fire escape, cursing the fact that Kai had them on the fifteenth floor. Damn the bird and his love for heights!

"Tala!" He ran over to Bryan and Ray, the Tiger waving and calling his name. Ian was staring at the burning building, rapture on his face. Spencer was quietly fuming, the fire was on the other end of the building so the chance of the fire spreading to his place was unlikely but he was worried. He had things to protect (ahem…tapes…-)

"Which one of you pyros set fire to the building?" Tala asked as he approached the group.

"Wasn't us." Ian said as he watched the flames greedily licking the tender wood. "Whoever started it sure knew what they were doing."

"How can you tell it was arson?" Ray asked as the other three sweat-dropped. Ian only grinned maniacally.

"When you've spent as much time as I have studying fire, then you could tell too." Ian turned back to the fire and watched it rapturously.

"Very true." Spencer muttered as he sweat-dropped harder. He then looked up worriedly. "Kai wasn't with you Tala?"

"He was. But he vanished. I kinda…fell asleep." He laughed sheepishly and ignored the pointed stare Bryan was giving him.

"So our prime suspect is currently missing?" Ian said as he looked at Tala.

Tala nodded slowly. After Ian, Bryan was the most likely one to have done it but since he was with the neko-jin it was unlikely that he would have. After them, Kai would be the next choice. He was fire. But he didn't approve of useless waste so unless he thought he would gain something in this, he wouldn't do it. But still, it was very likely…

"What the hell happened?!" They turned to see the Phoenix himself heading their way in a quick, touch-me-and-die stride. He was staring at the fire with a look of absolute rage. "I leave you idiots alone for a few hours and this happens?!"

"We didn't do it! Where were you?!" Bryan said. He was staring down at the mixed-haired blader with suspicion obvious in his moonlight eyes.

"I was out! You know, important business that is none of your business!" Kai roared back, having to raise his voice because of the sirens.

"Then how do we know you didn't start it?" The Falcon roared back, cutting off the Tiger's motion of disapproval by catching his hand before it made contact with his arm.

"Here!" Kai thrust a receipt at them and they looked it over. It was a receipt from the café ten blocks down, the time showed that it had been twenty minutes ago and the walk back was at least fifteen and he would have had to come toward them anyway. There was no way he could have gotten to the back of the apartment complex, started the fire, and snuck back around to walk at them from the street where the café was, ten blocks down anyway.

"Okay." Tala said stressing the word. "You couldn't have done it."

"I'm so glad you believe me. Besides, I wouldn't have gotten too far, with all the aerobatics involved in avoiding you and getting back there anyway." Kai said as he snatched his receipt back and glowered at Tala.

"Getting tired in your old age?" Ian shot at the Phoenix who was moving stiffly.

Kai's eye twitched. " No. Just ask Wolf-boy here." Kai went back to glaring at the Wolf who was shifting uncomfortably.

"I didn't mean to. You should have just stayed still…" Tala immediately blushed when he realized how that sounded and Bryan cocked an eyebrow. "Not like that!" He screeched in humiliation.

"You shouldn't have tried it in the first place! Something wrong with me." Kai snorted nastily, uncaring that he had a crowd. "Well, thank you. You realize I just had the most painful walk in my life."

Spencer snorted. "Unlikely. With the Abbey…"

"Fine!" Kai snapped. "Second most. Just because idiot here wanted to check me out!"

"Tala?" Ray asked warily. The Wolf was solid red now.

"I was not!" He denied viciously.

"Whatever. Now, I can't go back in and take a shower to cool down and wash away this itching medicine because some dumb-ass set the apartment on fire!" Kai sneered at the fire and walked over to the bench they were standing in front of. He slouched down into it and flinched as he rubbed his side on painted metal.

"What happened Kai?" Ray perched down on the other side of the bench and leaned against Bryan who was standing behind him.

"Moron here threw me into a table and some cabinets." Kai pointed at Tala who immediately jumped to his own defense.

"I did not. We fell off the couch! Then you lost your footing and fell into the cabinets!" He blushed as Bryan smirked and murmured, "You fell…"

"Let's review why then. You were manhandling me, no wait, wait, trying to see what was wrong with me, and when I pushed you off you didn't have the sense to let go. And then you pushed me away from the apartment door and made me crash into the cabinets. Your fault. Not mine." Kai huffed and crossed his arm, the fire's reflection dancing in his eyes. He looked scary.

"I said I was sorry." Tala sat down on the ground and groaned.

"They've almost got it out now." Ian said. He hadn't deigned to look at the fighting couple instead opting to watch the fire. To his disappointment, the fire was nearly out and they were letting the ashes burn out. He sighed as they told everyone to wait another twenty minutes.

"Great." This came from someone but no one was paying attention as to whom.

They sat outside the building for the twenty minutes and then were let back inside once it was deemed safe. They scoffed as the manager told them to report all their losses. Chances were they didn't lose anything. All their apartments were on the other side of the building. Smoke and water damage were their only concerns. Or so they thought.

* * *

"They're not here!" Spencer's yell came from his apartment. It was four doors away from Bryan and Ian's so they stuck their heads out the door at the yell.

"What's not, Spence?" Ian asked as he entered. He looked around but couldn't find anything that appeared to be missing. There weren't even signs of forced entry.

"The photos! They're missing!" Spencer came out of the room with the box he had kept the photos in. He undid the lock again and dropped it onto the table.

"How could they have gone missing? No one else has a key and we were all outside." Ian looked in amazement at the empty box.

"I've got a bad feeling…" Spencer trailed off and he paled slightly. He rushed out of the apartment and past Bryan's, ignoring their cries of surprise. They shrugged and followed after him as he made his way to the destroyed half of the building.

"Hey kid, get out of here!" A fireman yelled at him as he pushed past and went further into the electrical room. Spencer pulled something charred out from between two burned cables and groaned. The three looking over his shoulder gasped slightly and looked forlornly at the pile of ashes. The horrendously destroyed picture in his hand was the only one that even looked remotely salvageable. At least, did until it broke apart into cinders.

"I have no idea how he did it but he destroyed them…" Spencer trailed away. Their best blackmail was gone. Burned to ashes right before their eyes. They had no idea how the Phoenix had managed it.

"Tala! Open the door! Come on, fearless leader, open up!" Bryan pounded on the apartment door and waited impatiently as the Wolf undid a few locks and let them in.

"Kai's in the shower…" Tala slouched on the couch, a drink balanced precariously in his hand. He sighed and turned the channel. They heard loud rock music blaring from the bathroom.

"Kai always blares music like that?" Spencer asked. His cameras were in the living room and kitchen, and the sound didn't pick up the bathroom, thank god.

"Yep." Tala took a long swallow and then set the bottle down on the table. He looked p at them. "What did you need?"

"We needed to talk to Kai." Ray said as he sat down beside Tala and then scooted over to make room for Bryan.

"You don't happen to have the copy of the photo still on your hard drive do you?" Spencer asked and raised an eyebrow when Tala growled.

"No." Tala said with a lip curl. "Wish I did. Bastard's real bossy…Needs an attitude adjustment…."

"And just look how well that turned out last time you wanted that…" Kai shut off the music and came into the living room. A towel in his hands, rubbing down his hair, and a pair of cargos on. They flinched when they saw the ugly bruises on the Phoenix's skin. Kai looked at them all before settling his gaze on the irritated Wolf.

"We need to ask you something, Kai." Ian said as he stood beside Spencer. For the blonde's protection, he wasn't afraid (.…right…)

"Where were you really?" Bryan said and stared down the Phoenix.

Kai only grinned and it set the hairs on the back of their necks to rise. "Whatever are you talking about? I was at the café…" He lowed his eyelids half-way and grinned softly.

"D-Don't lie." Ray stuttered slightly. He was unnerved by the Phoenix's, his captain's, weird behavior.

"Who says I'm lying?" He leaned across the table and grabbed the Wolf's drink. He downed the rest of it and waited.

"We know Kai. Where were you?" Bryan said. He refused to be set ill at ease by the two-toned blader's actions. They watched him walk away from the living room and into the kitchen. "You weren't there." Bryan persisted.

"Prove it." Kai practically purred and walked back into the room with two beers and a Cheshire cat grin. He idled up to them and passed the other bottle to Tala before drinking his own.

They sputtered, at least as much as they could. The Phoenix raised a brow as he drank the beer. They averted their eyes. They couldn't prove it unless they went to the café themselves and spent twenty minutes interrogating people who would say the Phoenix had been there even if he hadn't. With the kind of money the Phoenix could shell out, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that each and every employee and customer would swear that the Phoenix had spent the last half hour and more at the store.

So they left, with sick feelings in their stomachs and unnerved expressions. They did not envy Tala. Not at all. The Wolf watched them with a hopeless look. They felt extreme pity and remorse for their captain. But there was no way they were going to stick around to watch the show.

* * *

"So what about this one, Tala? Real or fake?" Tala looked up at Kai's voice then at the T.V. Another infomercial. He sighed and watched for a few minutes. "So?"

He blushed and scooted away from the Phoenix, who was breathing in his ear. "It's fake." He shifted uncomfortably as Kai pulled him back to where he had been before.

"And this one?" Kai changed the channel. He looked up at the screen and then averted his eyes away from the crimson ones glowing next to him.

Kai pulled Tala back again when he moved to get away. "Come on, Tala. Answer." Kai held the redhead in place and Tala squirmed under his hand.

"Real." Tala reached for his drink and ignored Kai as he downed the rest of it. "Why are we doing this?"

"Why not?" The Phoenix shrugged. "You're Mr. Know-It-All. I thought you liked to play games with me…" He trailed away, petting the redhead's blood-red hair.

"Play games with you?!" Tala sat up off the couch and glared at the Phoenix. The slate-haired Russian didn't look fazed; he merely raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Since when have I ever played games with you?!"

"You don't want to play with me?" Kai asked, his voice very low and his eyes wide and innocent (O.o…right…) Tala bit back the blush that look was making rise on his cheeks. There was no way Kai had just asked that!

"When have I ever played games with you?" He repeated. He didn't have an answer for Kai's question. This was traumatizing enough without him answering those kinds of questions.

"You always play with me…" Kai's eyes went glittery like they were filling with tears. Tala's own eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell was going on here?!

"Are you drunk, Kai?" Tala asked after clearing his throat.

"No." Kai's eyes narrowed and the crimson stood out starkly. They were practically glowing. Hypnotically red…like flames…captivating like a fire…Tala's thoughts trailed away. He was caught in them, like a victim was caught looking into the eyes of a cobra just before they struck. He was very unaware that he was leaning closer.

Kai only smirked. He had caught Tala easier than expected. The Wolf was staring him right in the eyes. He liked the Wolf's eyes, even if he would rather bite his tongue than tell him that. Still, if he had to, he just might, given the right incentive, maybe. But anyway, the wolf was captured and his pride was back to being over-inflated. (Joking) Easily, he pulled the captivated redhead over to sit beside him. He eased the Wolf next to him, careful to keep eye contact. He wasn't sure if the spell he had woven over him would last if he looked away.

Tala shivered as he felt Kai move him. He was protesting somewhere in the back of his mind; he didn't like the loss of control. His inner-self growled for dominance. He didn't want the Phoenix in control. He tried to look away but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He only succeeded in making the Phoenix bring those flickering and dancing eyes closer. He saw the smirk and on some level, around the same level where his desire for control and dominance dwelt, he hated it.

And none of that inner battle was lost to Kai. He could read it in the redhead's eyes. The crystalline azure was as open as a book now. Cautiously, he tilted the pale chin up and brought his eyes within inches of the crystal shards.

"Do you want to play a game, Tala?" Kai asked quietly. He traced Tala's jaw line with his fingers and smirked as he felt the goosebumps rise where he brushed the snowy skin.

"What kind of game?" Tala asked, just as softly. He was very much aware that if he spoke louder, the Phoenix would pull away and he was still trapped in the tongues of flame caught in the crimson eyes. It was too hypnotic to just break away from.

"You tell me if it's real or not." He let his other hand draw the Wolf closer by the waist, so his hip was resting on his own. He bit back the wince when Tala's belt brushed his bruised side and made his eyes stay open.

"If what is?" Tala hated how he was being led along like a sheep to be slaughtered. He was a wolf, damn it! He led little sheep to their deaths, not be led like one. He felt Kai's hands on his hip and neck, his mouth that had been smirking twisted into a grimace and Tala was instantly concerned. Did he do something already to piss off the fire-bird?

"Is this real or not?" Kai pressed his mouth to the Wolf's briefly, a few seconds of heated contact. He felt like someone had hit him in the stomach with a ton of bricks at the contact but he liked the feeling. He closed his eyes while doing it, savoring the sensation but opened them and backed off, letting the Wolf process it.

Tala just stared, slack-jawed and stunned. He brought a hand up and touched his mouth, still staring at Kai…His mind was blank, the driving need for control and dominance shut away and silent now. It didn't know what to do. Frankly, neither did Tala. The Phoenix seemed poised for some reaction, what it was Tala had no clue.

"Well? Was it real?" Tala just stared. Kai frowned. "Tala? Answer the question."

"Kai? What did you do?" Tala's eyes went even widen and the irritating voices from earlier just wouldn't come back. There wasn't any help for him. He was lost. Kai just looked at the Wolf and frowned.

He didn't wait for an answer. He read it in the crystalline eyes that would haunt his dreams now. Tala didn't know what to think. That he could tell. He was terrified. Kai pushed him away and walked out of the room. His eyes had been shut from the second he had read the rejection in the azure crystal. He didn't look back at the couch, he didn't even look to find his way back to his bedroom, he just followed instinct.

"It was…" Tala said after he had been cast adrift. His mind came crashing back when the hypnotic fire had vanished. He fought to block out all the irritating voices nagging at him. He knew what they were trying to say. And he didn't care. He had just done something he wasn't sure could ever be done. He had just wounded the immortal. The Phoenix had been wounded. And it was his fault. "It was real…I'll prove it…"

He pressed a hand to his mouth, wishing to feel more of a sensation that had ended too soon. He closed his eyes in defeat. He wasn't sure how to fix it now. Was there a salve to heal anyone of the grievous wound he had just inflicted?

* * *

So? Feedback? Any opinion at all, I'll listen to. I know I've focused quite a bit on Tala and Kai and I do on the next chapter but I'm trying to write in more skits and problems with the others. I'm determined to do this right! Here's a small preview...

Preview of Chapter 4

_"Kai?" He knocked harder. He didn't receive an answer. Frowning, he looked back at the clock on the wall. It was already nine. Was Kai really still asleep? He brought his Wolf nature to the forefront and entered Kai's room. And stopped in his tracks…The Phoenix wasn't here. Nothing was. Kai's room was empty. Only a bedspread on the mattress and a curtain in the window._

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Review for me, please. I'm still satisfied that so many people have read it!


	4. IV On A Serious Note

Congratulations! You're about to read chapter four in my incredibly imaaginative and witty tale of two boys forced to live together! Disclaimer's in the other chapter refer back in case you need to see a familiar tag. Otherwise I have a small warning : Some are a little OOC in this chapter (It wasn't intentional...just kinda happened...and I can't make myself change it...) Love to everyone who has sent me reviews! You are my angels! And thanks to everyone who's generally read it! Enjoy!

Beware my freakishly long chapters! Quake in the shadow of my long-winded explanations over what's happening while I supply you with detailed descriptions of what everyone's wearing! Muhahahaha! -sweatdrop- enjoy...

* * *

IV. On A Serious Note…

He woke up on the couch. Not the first time, probably not the last either, but that wasn't what was worrying. No. The complete and total lack of noise was what was worrying him. He nearly fell off the couch in his desperate scramble to get himself off the couch. He was being rather graceful today, huh?

"Kai?" He hesitated as he knocked on the bedroom door. Generally, it was only this quiet when the Phoenix was still sleeping. He had noticed this when he had accidentally set his alarm ahead an hour instead of resetting the clock. It had been unearthly quiet…like the Abbey had been every night. But when Kai was awake, the entire place was filled with noise. The stereo if he was in the shower, the T.V. if he was in the living room or, really, anywhere else in the house, and occasionally the Phoenix would hum or sing lightly when he wasn't doing anything.

The oppressive lack of noise now sent chills down his spine. It was too quiet and unfamiliar now. If this was a nature setting or if he was over at Tyson's, then the silence would be welcoming. Not now.

"Kai?" He knocked harder. He didn't receive an answer. Frowning, he looked back at the clock on the wall. It was already nine. Was Kai really still asleep? He brought his Wolf nature to the forefront and entered Kai's room. And stopped in his tracks…The Phoenix wasn't here. Nothing was. Kai's room was empty. Only a bedspread on the mattress and a curtain in the window.

He ran to the closet, wishing he was mistaken. No. Nothing was in there. He checked the bathroom. Nothing. Panicking, he exited and ran to the door. There on the counter was Kai's key. He grabbed it and went weak. Kai was gone. He had vanished in the night like a dream. And waking up was proving to be a nightmare.

He gripped the key tightly in his hand and left, he had to go a few floors down. He rushed out of the elevator, ignoring some old bat's French curses as he nearly tripped over her dog. She screeched some horrible insult that she thought he wouldn't understand so he guessed he shocked her when he answered in French and called her a "piss-drunk whore" She wasn't appreciative but hey, everyone had their problems.

"Spencer! Spencer! Let me in!" He shouted and pounded an the door. When it opened, he nearly bowled the other person over, not caring that he was interrupting something. He saw Bryan, Ray, Ian, Max, and Tyson perched in chairs in Spencer's living room.

"Hey Tala." He said as he closed the door and Tala stared at him. He looked exhausted and, he could see it but he wasn't too sure if anyone else could, regretful. "I guess you want to know what happened."

"Of course that's why I'm here! Where did he go?!" Tala yelled. He saw the Bladebreakers flinch at the homicidal note in his voice. He hadn't been this crazy since the First world championships. Not even when he had been fighting against Boris. His freaking friend…his roommate…his…something…had just left him!

"Calm down Tala." Bryan said. He didn't even sound like himself. If anything, he sounded lost. Cut off too. Tala met the Falcon's eyes and looked at him hard. Yes, there was pain in those eyes. Pain he was trying to hide. Tala wondered why he didn't notice sooner. Bryan practically had Ray suffocated, his grip on the Chinese teen's waist tight and the Tiger's forehead resting by his neck. He looked like he was lost at sea.

"Where did he go?" Tala asked, more in control of his voice now. He couldn't mask the pain to himself but he slipped on the emotionless mask to hide it from the others. No one needed to see him like that. He was the one who had to be strong. He was their captain. Their leader.

"He moved out, Tala. He said he'd keep the rent up in your place and ours. But he's gone. He didn't say where. He just had us help him take his bags out to the car when it arrived. He said to make sure you got this." Spencer handed him an envelope that Tala tore into immediately.

It wasn't a mushy letter telling him how much he regretted his choice. He didn't write to say that he was going to miss the Wolf. It didn't have any emotion at all. He just wrote, in his precise neat handwriting, "The accounts are in your name. They are---" That was it. A note telling him how to access their funds to pay rent. Tala fisted the envelope in his palm and cleared his throat.

"You better keep this, Spence. As scatter-brained as I am, I'll lose it." He handed it back to the blonde and smiled tightly. "I'm gonna go back up to my room then, okay? I'll see you at twelve for lunch. We'll go out to that place again, huh?"

Not even Tyson looked pleased with this mentioning. Tala grinned and left. He felt light-headed. The others just watched him go.

* * *

"What should we do?" This came from Max. The Turtle looked close to tears. It was obvious he hurt for the artic wolf.

"What can we do? You saw how he looked when he left…" Bryan said, holding his lover tighter. His heart had become a lot more uncovered since he had fallen in love with the Chinese Tiger. It was easy to hide this to the others but to his koi and to his team, it was obvious. What had him hurting now was the way the Phoenix had acted this morning. He had been possessed.

"He was in pain. It was understandable…" Ian said in a moment of clear intuition. Spencer placed a hand on his shoulder in agreement.

"We should at least try." Tyson said, his hands fisted and shaking. He was tense and very silent. Kai's behavior had pushed them all on edge. "I still don't understand why though. Why would Kai go to him of all people?"

"He can't go to his own home. He wouldn't be comfortable with any of us or any of the others. I guess he knew that he wouldn't get any pity from him."

"But I don't like it!" Tyson yelled. "He's a friend and all but I don't like it! He tried to kill him! How can Kai forgive that?"

"I'm not going to pretend to understand Kai, or even anything he does, but Kai forgave him. You did too, Tyson, don't forget that. He went somewhere where he wouldn't feel like he was getting pity or disgust." Ray said as he brushed his gloved hand through lavender locks.

"But…"

"No, Tyson. We'll just have to think of something else. We can't interfere." Max said.

"We're going to have to soon though. The only other time I've seen him so…possessed was with Black Dranzer." Spencer said quietly even as they all paled. "He's going to hurt himself, Dranzer, or Tala. I can feel it."

"Don't say that. We'll think of something long before that can happen." Ray said in a show of complete faith. Bryan tensed beneath him.

"I hope so, Kitty. I hope so." The Falcon whispered. It was a rare display of emotion from him but he couldn't help it. Everything was supposed to have changed and get better. Now it was as Tala had described it earlier, even though he had no idea that the Wolf had. It was a nightmare.

* * *

"No!" Tala punched the wall again, hoping to make the words vanish. He still hadn't repainted the wall, even though Kai had been insistent. But he hadn't cleaned up the blue puddle of paint in front of the other wall either. Tala pressed a hand against the wall to steady himself.

He had done it. He ought to be cheering. He had hurt the Phoenix in ways the psycho from BEGA had been unable to do. He hated himself for it. Even more, he hated the part of himself that wasn't hurting. The part that was whispering that if Kai had meant it, he would have stayed. He would have sauntered into the living room and smirked. He would have embarrassed the wolf and laughed. He would have apologized in a laughing manner that would honestly make the entire thing seem false.

Tala told that part of himself to fuck off. The Phoenix had made himself completely vulnerable to Tala last night. Even if the slate-haired blader wouldn't admit it, he had bared his throat to the Wolf, expecting acceptance and hopefully a return. But, idiot that he had been, he had slit the throat and let him bleed to death. Not literally. Figuratively. Kai had died last night. He had killed that part of him. His own best friend…his roommate…his…Tala slammed another fist into the wall.

He watched the blood drip down his hand and he laughed softly. He was so scattered-brained that he hadn't even put down Kai's key before punching the wall. He snorted and walked carefully over to the counter. He placed it down in the center of the cheap marble reproduction counter-top. He rinsed out his wound with warm water just like Kai had shown him. He was the one who had shown Tala some of the finer points of first aid. He had learned most of what he knew about it from Kai.

"Where would you have gone, song-bird?" Tala said softly as he traced the wound. It had made a distinct key-like impression in his palm. "What am I going to do, come to think of it?" He fisted his had and went to the fridge.

His hand lingered on the neck of the bottles of beer Kai had bought. He actually saw merit in getting completely drunk. But he immediately put that idea down. If anything, he couldn't let the others see him act this way. He had to be stronger than that. Put on the persona that he had banished when he had been freed from Boris's control.

Kai wasn't here now. And it was apparent that he wasn't coming back. So Tala dropped the light-hearted, easy-going spirit that he could become when the world was stable. As everything was now going to hell, he slipped on the mask and let indifference rule him once more. After all, he had done it just last night right? It was going to be too easy to destroy the soul now that he didn't have anything anymore wasn't it?

* * *

"Did you get it all put away?" Kai looked up from the fountain he had been staring at and turned to look at the orange-head. He nodded, making eye-contact with the teal-blue eyes. The orange-haired teen nodded and sat beside him, scattering a few crumbs to the birds that had gathered around him. "So what now?"

"I don't know." Kai admitted. He could talk this freely with only a few people. The god-wielder was only fortunate enough to be counted among those few after…a flash of azure, snow, and red…He watched the birds flitting about his feet and watched in amusement as they ignored him. Birds had never liked him much…Except Dranzer, anyway.

"Stay here for a few days and then decide. Blow off talking to everyone. Cut yourself off. Figure it out and then go back."

"Why would I go back? He made it very clear." Kai raised an eyebrow. "Besides, won't I get in the way of your private time with the Sun-god?" His tone filled with dark humor. He obviously thought less of gods then he did of himself. Beside him, Brooklyn smiled with humor.

"Not really. He does not desire constant contact and I do not need it either. It is like that one saying- Those in love are dancers, partners in love, they need not cling tightly but only move confidently, trusting and sure, and the music will bring them together again and again." Brooklyn sighed with contentment, the love in his eyes unfazed by the dark glower beside him.

"Right. Until you slip. Then it all crashes down around you…" Kai curled his lip and made an entirely negative sound reminiscent of a tiger's snarl.

"Only if you let it. Then you begin a new dance and it continues." Brooklyn brushed a hand over the beak of a sparrow that alighted to his knee. The birds cut Kai a wide berth. And he guessed it had more to do with the battle-lust and fury radiating off the bluenette than anything else.

"Besides, I can't disappear. I have training to manage and a business to run." Kai flicked away a seed as it fell to his knee. He looked back at the fountain and sighed. He stood, making the birds fly away and then return when he left. He walked to the fountain and swirled the water under his hand before striking at his reflection and stalking into the house.

"Rather moody. Why again did I let you let him in?" Garland commented as he joined his lover on the bench.

"Because, as much as you don't want to admit it, you care. And I do too. The Suzaku is aching and a dark spirit clings to him. I am worried and all of it leads back to last night."

"How can you tell?" Garland looked him over like he had missed something.

"Zeus knows. I can sense it. But he's not saying. Neither is the Phoenix himself. But there's something wrong." Brooklyn scattered more seed to the ground and watched the birds lovingly.

"I'm going to call his teammates. Maybe they know." Garland lightly ran a hand over his lover's neck and grinned down at him. "We'll help somehow."

Brooklyn watched him leave. He then stood and walked over to the fountain. The water was sickly and impure. And the Phoenix had barely brushed it. "We'll lose. We are not the ones to help."

Kai stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He could see it. The dark lines under his eyes and the glazed look they would take occasionally. He had been feeling this unease since last night. Since…He drove it away….Flashes of crystalline azure…He fisted his hands and bared his teeth, unaware how animalistic he looked.

"It was fake…All of it…" He slammed a hand down on the sink counter and went back to rewrapping the bruises. He washed his hands…warm water was always the best…and dried them with a blue towel that was hanging on the rack. He brushed the slate-colored bangs away and left, entering the room Brooklyn had given to him. Oh, if his team could see him now…on second thought, maybe not. They would be full of pity and that would only piss him off.

He waved in the general direction of Brooklyn, barely acknowledging the god-blader when he waved back. He left the house and stalked into town. Maybe a gang would jump him and he could work off his anger. Maybe.

* * *

"So is there anything you can say?" Garland asked the Whale blader as he patiently sat in one of his armchairs.

"There's only the fact that both are now acting like they used to. Tala's gone cyborg-cold and Kai's back to being possessed by the Dark Suzaku." Spencer said.

"Dark Suzaku?" Garland asked curiously. This was the first he had ever heard of that.

"Long story. Short version is that in Russia, Kai went power-hungry and used the Dark Suzaku, Black Dranzer, to steal bit-beasts. It was a soul-exchange. His soul for her power. Her soul to darkness. It destroyed our trust in the Phoenix."

Garland was shocked. "Where did this Dark Suzaku come from? Could she be back?"

"She was a copy of Dranzer and technically, she can't come back. We watched… when the Abbey closed, we watched Kai seal her away inside himself. She's a part of Dranzer now. She's not supposed to come back."

"And the cyborg-cold?"

"Tala had a chip implanted that made him BioVolt's slave. We thought it was on permanent vacation. He can't have activated it but he's slipped on the old mask that it provided." Spencer sighed. "I guess it's their way of dealing with it."

"Then there's only one option."

"And that is?"

"Make them confront one another."

There was a thud on the other line and Garland assumed that Spencer dropped the phone. It was confirmed when he heard one of the Blitzkrieg Boys, Ian he guessed, tell Spencer to be more careful.

"Are you fucking insane?! We do that and we lose them both!" Spencer yelled into his ear.

"How was that again?" He was genuinely confused.

"They confront one another and their pride won't let them apologize. You know when Kai left Tala to the fan girls, Kai nearly bit his tongue off to choke to death than apologize for something that he saw wasn't his fault. Then the only other times I can think of when he apologized to anyone was when his Bladebreaker friends saved him on the lake and then to Tala when he thought he was going to die in that coma."

That was the longest speech he had heard from the stoic Russian and it kept going.

"And that's just Kai! Tala's just as bad, especially when he's cyber-cold. He is cruel and uncaring of people's pain then. The two of them apologizing is just stupid. The Wolf is upset because he killed his best friend and the Phoenix is upset because he was rejected."

"Then I don't know. I'll let you know when we think of anything useful. Call back when you want to talk to your Phoenix." Garland hung up frustrated. He didn't know about the past the Blitzkrieg shared so it made helping them all the more difficult. Something in the back of his mind though, just knew that a confrontation would be the best solution. The Phoenix would die or worse, give himself up to the negation and darkness and poison his soul. The wolf would kill his emotions and wander alone.

* * *

Kai strolled down the street, the bright light made softer by the sunglasses perched on his nose. He tucked his hands into the leather jacket and shrugged the lapels of his jacket higher. People would stare and then look away, convinced that they were seeing a gang member on the prowl. It didn't help that he would stop at every corner, look over his shoulder, swear viciously and continue walking. Know why he was doing that?

He was convinced, no dead certain, that someone was trailing after him. But he couldn't get his senses to recognize who. Between the darkness clouding his senses and the stalker's awareness, he couldn't get an accurate read. So he scowled deeper and slipped into a café/ bookstore and sought out an empty chair.

* * *

Tala frowned at them all. No one had said anything for the last fifteen minutes. Not even Tyson and they were at a restaurant. An All-You-Can-Eat type of deal. Normally this pleased the Dragon beyond conscious thought but he was being uncharacteristically silent and picky. He had barely eaten an eighth of what he normally did. Tala looked up and down the table again.

"All right, what's going on?" He said in his monotone. He saw Max shiver slightly but ignored it. There was no chill air so there was something wrong internally with the American, so he instantly dismissed it. Tyson wouldn't meet his eyes and Ray kept his attention on the Falcon. No one looked like they were even contemplating answering him.

"Answer me. What is going on?" Tala repeated.

"We're not feeling rather well." Ian said as he pushed his uneasiness aside slightly. They had never been afraid of Tala before but this Wolf before them was not theirs. He was calculating, cruel and artic cold. This was not their captain. This was an imposter who would remain until they solved the problem. Unfortunately, the Wolf needed to solve the problem and he wasn't looking inclined to give it a moment's thought.

"Is that true?" He waited and a few nods answered him. "Very well. We will leave. I will pay." Tala grabbed his coat, slipping it on and strode to the counter.

"What do we do?" Tyson said at length.

"What that boxing guy from BEGA said was a confrontation." The Falcon snorted and Spencer shot him a look of agreement. "But that is just stupid."

"What do you mean?" Max said, quiet and serious. The care-free attitude was dampened by the behavior of the two captains.

"Their damn pride. They barely apologize." Ian snarled. He obviously thought it was childish behavior in his captain. The Bladebreakers captain wasn't very mature in this either but no one was asking him.

"So then what? Do we just pretend that nothing's wrong?" Tyson's voice raised heatedly. Tala looked back at him and they all glared at the dragon. He shut up and Tala looked away. They sighed and left the table.

"We'll have to think of something. We've got practice tomorrow so we need a plan before then. Keep in touch." Spencer told the Turtle and the Dragon as they walked back to Tyson's dojo. They nodded and the four walked behind their stoic captain.

* * *

Kai left the bookstore with a coffee in hand and the feeling that he was being stalked gone. He walked back to Brooklyn and Garland's with a stiff side and soothed senses. The dark feelings were gone for a while at least. His phone rang and he checked the caller ID before answering it.

"Hello, Ray. What did you want?" He sighed in dejection. If the Tiger started with those sympathetic tones he was hanging up…

"Think again, song-bird." The Falcon. "Tiger-kitty wanted me to verify practice for the Bladebreakers tomorrow."

"Tomorrow at nine. BBA Headquarters." Kai acknowledged. "That all?" That had better be all. He wasn't in the mood to talk with any of the Blitzkrieg right now.

"Yeah. That's all." Bryan hadn't hung up yet though. "Kai…Are you…uh…"

"Am I what?" He hissed into the speaker. A few people stared at him but since he had the coffee in his other hand, he couldn't show them what to do with their attention, so he settled for a dark glare.

"Ever coming back…" The Falcon's voice was so small he barely heard it. But he did and it made him stop. The darkness vanished and Kai felt a hollow ache. He wanted to soothe the windy bird but then it all came back with a vengeance.

"Not ever. It's unlikely that you will ever see me again." He said with a nasty snarl, anger rising at the thought of ever returning to them. His eyes darkened with just the thought. Unconsciously, he gripped the coffee cup tightly, vise-like, and burning liquid poured over his hand. It dripped down to the street below and his skin was turning bright red.

Kai closed the phone sharply. He didn't even care that he was hurting one of his brothers. He didn't care. He just wanted to strike until he was numb. A voice whispered to him from deep inside that that wasn't true. He didn't want to be numb, he wanted to heal. He wanted to strangle that voice.

* * *

Tala entered his apartment, the façade he had presented peeling away. His heart hurt from the second he had walked into the room. It was so quiet, so bare, so damn empty. He turned on the television, setting the volume as loud as it would go and did the same to the stereo. He walked over to the wall and brushed his hands over it. The words he had painted on it with laughter and amusement were still there. He forced the ache in his throat to vanish.

He went to the cabinet and pulled out the bucket of paint they had bought to fix the other wall. He placed it on the ground and worked off the lid. When Kai came back…When he came back…not if…no…when he came back, he wouldn't want it there. Tala began to paint over the personality traits that made the Phoenix the Phoenix. He glanced back at the paint stain on the floor and promised to clean that too. He was going to get the Phoenix back…He just had to figure out how.

Kai closed the curtains in his bedroom, blocking out the sunlight. Any other time he would have welcomed a light so like his own, but not now. He brushed a hand over his burned hand and grinned cattily. This wasn't like him, was it? He sighed and fell back on the bed, hearing the whispered voices of the two bladers in the home. They obviously were being quieter than usual, hoping to keep him in the dark, but they didn't know about his heightened senses.

They were whispering sweet things that had no meaning to him but had meaning to them, private jokes between couples. He grinned weakly and blocked them out. He should have gone to his mansion and not to the god-blader's home. Lack of plumbing be damned. But he knew he couldn't. It was too quiet at home. He hated that silence. The Abbey-like quiet that permeated the stone mansion unless he had others stay. He hated that silence. Anywhere else he would have welcomed it, but never in his home.

Tala ran the warm water in the sink, scrubbing the paint the had gotten on his hands away. He dried them on a hand towel and went back into the room to look over the job he had just finished. No noticeable splatters were on the floor and he couldn't see a trace of the blue paint on the floor before the opposite wall. It looked rather normal now.

He sighed though. He didn't have anyone to talk to now and he wasn't calling someone. They had been acting weird all day too. He suspected that they were sorry for him. But he wasn't the one that had been hurt. He inflicted the wound and his heart was only feeling guilt, shame and loss. He had driven away his best friend…his roommate…his…something. He collapsed on the bed in the other room, staring up at the mirror in the top of the four-poster bed. He had no idea why Kai had liked it and he didn't have many remotely close ideas as to why either. But Kai did. Tala frowned at his reflection as he laid on the white sheet.

He was going to have to think of something before practice tomorrow. He needed to figure out a way to apologize without saying it. His pride, stubborn thing that it was, was convinced that Kai had been at fault. Since when did Kai go around kissing people?! What gave him the right to press himself onto him?! He was right in rejecting it. He wasn't gay, he wasn't attracted to Kai! He wasn't!

Tala told his pride to go jump into the river wearing cement shoes. He didn't mean to reject the Phoenix. He had been stunned, slightly confused, and completely amazed. Kai's taste was something that he could get addicted to…If he could figure out how to get him back. As roommates at least, if nothing else.

* * *

Kai wiped away the blue triangles, absently tracing the patterns on his skin. He was going to get them tattooed on his face one day, so he would never have to deal with washing them away and repainting them again. But he was a little reluctant to do it. Not afraid of the pain, that was something he could take without flinching, but afraid that he would have to wear the mask forever. He used them to hide his true self; they were a creation not a necessity. But they gave him strength, so he was trapped in the cycle. Wear them to be true, not wear them to be true…

He folded his clothes neatly and placed them in the hamper with his other dirty laundry. He pulled out another outfit and left it on the bedside table to wear tomorrow. He doubled checked to be sure that he had all of his blading gear with it. They had practice tomorrow. He was going to have to see him…flashes of azure, red, and white…again. For the first time since he had been rejected. He placed a hand on his chest, head tilted to the side and slightly confused by the rapid pace his heart had spiked into.

Dropping his hand and sighing, he climbed into the bed and stared at the empty space above him. He was missing that odd mirror. A smile tugged at his lips. That wasn't all he was missing but hey, denial works too, huh? He closed his eyes and fell asleep, a welcome activity.

* * *

"So we still have nothing?" Ian asked for the third time. The other three shot him nasty glares and he gulped.

"I didn't hear any smart suggestions from you." Bryan said as he narrowed his eyes. "Nothing we came up with works. I swear, when we do think of something and get them back together, they had better be eternally grateful."

Ray frowned and placed a hand on his forehead. "Well, it's not a fever so it must be delusions." Spencer and Ian snorted and bit back their laughter as Bryan looked indignant.

"What delusions?!" He narrowed his eyes on his Tiger, confused and irritated.

"Kai and Tala grateful? Are you kidding me? They'd sooner apologize to Boris than tell you they were grateful for anything." Ray said, completely truthful. Bryan sweat-dropped. Yeah, that was more likely.

"So now we're stuck." Spencer said as he dropped into one of the armchairs. He had been pacing but it hadn't helped the thought process. He sighed. They had spent the last two and a half hours mulling over the problem. None of their suggestions would work because each one ended up with Kai staying light-years away from them and Tala going into permanent cyborg-mode. They could only hope that the two were working on it themselves, though judging on Kai's earlier comments he wasn't looking for a solution at all. Typical, arrogant Kai. But…They felt worse for him than they did for Tala. Kai's little empathy-thing was picking up their pity so he was obviously going to avoid them or make them hate him. Whatever came first.

* * *

"So what did you have planned?" Garland asked as Brooklyn pulled on his white jacket and fastened all the buttons properly. He adjusted his gloves and met the teal-blue gaze his lover directed to him.

"I'm going to see if Hiro knows about it. All the teams are going to be at the BBA Headquarters soon and I want to ask him before that." Brooklyn reminded him. It was very early still. Their clock was telling them it was only six. Garland sighed quietly. Training days were always so difficult when he got up this early.

They exited the bedroom and strolled through the kitchen, intent on grabbing a bit of breakfast before taking off. They were met with the aroma of fresh coffee. Garland cocked an eyebrow. The coffee pot was still warm but there was no sign of their guest. Just one lonely empty mug sitting in the sink. Brooklyn shook his head and pulled out two more mugs and they sat in silence, drinking the coffee.

They added their mugs to the one in the sink and Brooklyn led the way out of the house. They caught a taxi and patiently waited the thirty minute drive down to the BBA from Garland's home. Brooklyn left to find Hiro and Garland walked down to the training equipment room.

"So you don't have an idea either?" Brooklyn asked the older Kinomiya as he leaned on the wall in the hallway.

"We'll just have to let them work it out themselves. If we interfere then it's very likely that they will completely block one another out. What caused it, anyway?"

Brooklyn shrugged. "Kai didn't say and I didn't ask." Hiro grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I didn't see it coming that's for sure." He murmured and Brooklyn looked politely interested.

"Didn't see what?"

"You've become friends with someone I wasn't very sure you'd be able to. I'm impressed." Hiro smiled at the orange-top and lead the way out of the hall and to the fenced balcony that was above the training dishes. They descended the stairs and watched as Garland, the others from BEGA and a few others made their ways to them.

"Has anyone seen, or heard from, the Bladebreakers yet?" Miguel asked. He looked through the room as though he might have missed them on his first glance.

"It's only seven thirty. It'll be some time before nine." Garland said after checking his watch. "But they'll be here soon."

"How do you know?" Claude asked the Sun-god-blader.

"We've talked to Ray. He said he was bringing everyone early. I think they're trying to get here before their captains because he was bringing the Blitzkrieg too." Mystel answered and pulled the dual-headed bird blader to one of the dishes. He obviously didn't want to waste time with the new techniques he was teaching to the light-mint-blue-haired teen.

"Anyone have any ideas why they're so high-strung?" Hiro asked the room in general. Everyone shook their heads but Garland. "You know?"

"I talked to Spencer. Whatever happened made them revert back he said. Tala's become "cyborg-cold" and Kai's gone "possessed" like in Russia when he was possessed by the Dark Suzaku." Garland said, the doubt in his eyes gone when he met the confident nod of his lover. "Brooklyn?"

"I can tell Kai's possessed. Zeus can feel the darkness. It's not like our power but it's frighteningly similar." Brooklyn swept a hand toward himself when he said "our" and made a few flinch. It was unnerving to be reminded that Brooklyn had been a vessel for the Dark King.

"It's not a very pretty sight." They turned, those who weren't wrapped up in a blading battle, and noticed the neko-jins walking into the room.

"Lee?"

The Lion nodded even as the others stopped. "We've seen him like that before. He stole our beasts from us." The neko-jins clutched their blades harder, upset at the memory. "He stole ours and the All-Stars' beasts back in Russia. You've never felt anything so cold before. That sick gut-wrenching pain when he takes them and laughs at your suffering."

"But you've forgiven him…Haven't you?" Brooklyn asked curious. There was doubt there though.

"He was under BioVolt's control. Black Dranzer's control. We only hated the company. We couldn't hate him for it. That dark power so like his Suzaku…It's amazing that he didn't lose himself completely and be unable to be saved." Mariah said softly. She smiled at Galux and the memory of Kai completely at ease in the mall. It was hard to hate someone who was being manipulated. That's why none hated Brooklyn. Especially after Kai had forgiven him.

"We just saw the others and none of them look excited." Julia and Raul said together as they entered the training arena. Both looked confused and distracted.

"The others?" Aaron asked.

"PPB All-Stars, Blitzkrieg, and the Bladebreakers. Both of the last two by the way, were missing their captains." Raul and Julia exchanged sentences and gestured to Mathilda and Miguel to join them at a dish. They were perfecting team battling. It was highly likely that the next tournament would follow the same rules as the last.

"Hey guys!" Tyson called as he came in the room running. "Kai here?" He looked around quickly, checking the shadows.

"Not yet, Tyson. What are you doing here so early?" Hiro looked at his brother in both amusement and concern. The boy looked stressed.

"Hey, Ray! He's not here! Told you!" He waved at the others who were entering the room just now.

"He told you, Tyson! You didn't believe him!" Rick bellowed as he walked up to one of the dishes, dragging a protesting Michael and grabbing Lee. "Come on, Mariah. Let's show them what we were working on." The pink-haired neko-jin grinned and waved at them before following her boyfriend over to battle the disgruntled Lion and Eagle.

" Why are you concerned about if he's here or not? You don't want to get started training early?" Garland asked with a cheeky grin.

"No!" Tyson roared in embarrassment as Daichi began to tease him. "It's just…Shut it! That's not! Daichi!" The Wind Dragon took off after the Earth Dragon as he stole his beloved ball-hat.

"We just didn't want to talk to him until we worked out the plan." Bryan said in answer to Garland's first question.

"What plan?" Brooklyn asked in interest. He didn't have one so hopefully theirs would be a winner.

"Well…That's just it. We don't have one." Ray said as everyone not absorbed in a battle sweat-dropped.

"Why didn't any of you wake me?!" Tala's roar made a few flinch and they met the furious icy glare as the Wolf ran into the room. His devil-horns were drooping and he angrily swatted at his bangs. A few buckles were undone and he only swore, in a very nasty tone, Russian words that made all who understood cringe.

"Well, we kinda forgot…" Ian said. He hid behind Spencer as his captain leveled a glare at him that would have made a tornado think twice. It was very true. Usually, Kai made sure their irate, not-a-morning-person captain got to practice on time. It was painfully obvious that they had forgotten Kai didn't live there anymore.

"Why isn't he here? Have you seen him at all this morning?" Tyson asked Brooklyn after reclaiming his hat. Tala took note of this and did a quick scan, registering that one was missing. He frowned and looked at the Dark God blader in confusion.

"No we haven't. I'm not concerned. He won't skip practice." Brooklyn shrugged. "He had the coffee made when we came downstairs so I assumed he was already up and gone."

"Why was he at your place?" Tala asked suddenly. They looked between the Wolf and the Dark God, immediately worried. They didn't tell Tala where Kai had moved to.

"He moved in yesterday. Early that morning." Garland said as the icy eyes turned toward him. A frown etched into the pale face but then vanished into a scowl. The Wolf looked blood-thirsty. He turned on his teammates with a vengeance.

"And why is it that none of you told me that?" He snarled, none of them meeting his eyes.

"Because it didn't matter." Tala froze, his eyes wide and his heart stopping only to thunder in his chest with a new energy. Kai stood in the doorway, a frown on his face and he looked over everyone. "Partner up. One-on-one if you're not already in a battle." He ordered.

Everyone broke apart, leaving Brooklyn, Hiro, Tala, and Kai as the only ones not doing anything. They all launched and pretended to battle. Their attention, even those previously elsewhere, was now centered on the two captains.

"And who says it doesn't?" Tala asked with a frown. He was struggling to keep his face indifferent when all he wanted was to break down and apologize. Pride kept him indifferent.

"I say. You aren't my care-taker, Ivanov. Team captain maybe, but that only gives you so much." Kai glared, his crimson eyes touched with streaks of black. Tala instantly disliked the stripes. Kai was very hurt, for him to be allowing Dark Suzaku any control, his own resolve must be bruised.

"I think I have more of a right than team captain." He said, his face passive with a frown.

"Really?" Kai sneered and Tala frowned deeper. "What other right do you have?"

"Friend." He said simply. Kai's eyes narrowed and the strips of black enveloped his entire eye.

"Friend? How much of a friend have you been recently?" He hissed, barely audible. Tala had to strain to hear it and even then it sounded remarkably like a snake's hiss. He suffered the pain that the comment caused because whatever Kai said, it would only pale in comparison to what he had done.

"A lousy one." Tala said, his voice louder but only barely. He felt the other's stares but dismissed them. Kai didn't seem to care either.

"Right. So what does that give you to me?" Kai walked up to Tala so he could see the black pools his eyes had shaded to. "Answer me, Ivanov."

"It gives me no right." He said, bitterly. "but it does grant me the chance to apologize." The pitch-black faltered and he could see blood-red wine for an instant. He treasured that and continued while he still had him off balance. "Kai, I…I didn't mean…"

"You meant!" Kai hissed, advancing on him like a bird making the kill-dive. A few of them stepped forwards to help but were held back by a negative sign by Brooklyn. They watched the two-toned blader stare death at the redhead a few inches taller. But Tala didn't cower in front of the stare. His pupils swirled brilliant red and then darkened.

"I.."

"Think I don't know? I could read it clearly. You meant it. From the bottom of your soul. Enjoy it Tala. You've managed to wound me in a way I didn't think possible. Congratulations." He snapped viciously and made to move from the redhead.

Tala growled and caught his arm, refusing to be dismissed. "Wait! I'm not done!" He held the Phoenix in place even though it took everything he had to keep him there.

"I'm done listening. There's nothing left. Let me go, Yuriy. Release me!" His last demand was a loud yell that made them cringe at the fury it held.

"I'm not done yet!" Tala's voice was equally as loud. "What I did…I didn't mean it. I was being stupid, Kai. Listen to me!" Tala forcefully drug the Phoenix in front of him and trapped the teen by his wrists. Kai snarled something intelligible and jerked back. Tala held him strong.

"Let go of me, Yuriy! Let me go!" Kai thrashed with a strength that made them pale. How Tala still kept a grip on him , they would never understand. "Yuriy!"

"Listen to me, Kai Alexander Hiwatari, listen to me! What I did to you is unforgivable but I'm asking for it anyway! I'm sorry, damn it! I'm sorry!" He roared at the bird he had snared, unprepared for the kick that knocked his right knee off balance and dropped him to the floor. Kai radiated a black fury and whips of black aura were visible to even those without any spiritual insight.

Kai pounced on his prey and pressed his arm into Tala's throat. Tala gasped for air and Kai let up slightly, just enough to let him breathe. "Listen well to me, Tala Yuriy Ivanov. You will not presume to do that again. I will not tolerate it." He hissed and the black in his eyes flared darker.

"Kai! Get off him!" Tyson yelled, his face pale. Tala and Kai ignored him, both focused on the other. The others had long since stopped battling and were watching the scene with slight fear and worry. The Russians seemed the most upset. Ian was pale and unmoving, his eyes wide in fright. Spencer was refusing to watch, his hands balled into fists and shaking. Bryan's entire body was trembling and there was no emotion in his eyes. Ray was beside him, their hands tightly intertwined.

"I didn't mean to reject you." Tala whispered. "What you had done, confused me. I did not know myself at that time. I was out of control of myself. I hated that feeling." Kai recoiled from him, getting to his feet and glancing away. The black did not fade, however.

"Lying…You're lying…It was fake…Fake!" Kai bowed his head and yelled at the floor. Tala sat up, rubbing his throat and he climbed to his feet unsteadily.

"It was real." Tala said. He reached out and gingerly touched the Phoenix. Kai flinched away from him. "I'm sorry. I was not trying to hurt you."

"You weren't though. I read it. I read you. You were disgusted. I hurt you. Made you sick of me. I don't want to hear it from you." He stepped away from Tala. They watched Kai shake violently and a few girls began to unconsciously cry. Julia wiped away the tears in amazement, she couldn't even feel the tears falling.

"Listen to me. I wasn't. I couldn't ever hate you. Be disgusted by you, make you anything but what you are to me." Tala placed his hand on the other's shoulder and began to make small circles to soothe him.

"I'm so sorry, Yuriy. I have made you disgusted. I can tell. I read it in your eyes. You hated me. You hated me." Kai whispered, the black and red in his eyes dancing and swirling in a pattern unlike any. They were captivated by the battle between the two colors, both so inhuman and yet normal.

"Listen, Kai…Kai! Damn it!" Tala let him go and jumped back even as a black aura wrapped itself around the dual-haired blader. "No! Kai!"

"That's a lie! You rejected me! I know what I saw and you hate me!" Kai dropped to his knees and the darkness made a shadowy form. A bird, dying and burning, made of ashes and smoke. It seemed to comfort the slate-haired teen but there was a malice in its moves that belied its gentle actions.

"Kai! Release him! Release him, you damn monster!" Tala roared, hand already going for his blade.

The bird lifted its head to glare at him, death and destruction in its eyes. It pinned its black and purple gaze on the Artic Wolf Blader and opened its beak, letting forth an unnatural screech devoid of emotion. It was completely unlike the brilliant and magnificent creature that Dranzer was.

"You will not take him!" Tala launched Wolborg, his spirit rising and snarling at the Dark Suzaku. "I won't let you take him! Kai fight damn you!" Wolborg dove at the bird, drawing its essence away from Kai. Shadows still clung to him but he was free from Black Dranzer at the time. "Stop her!"

Spencer, Ian and Bryan launched their blades and let their spirits rise. The three attacked the Dark Suzaku that only seemed to grow each moment. She was laughing at their attempts. Until Tala began to advance on Kai, then she was un-amused. She ceased to play and began to cut a vicious path through the four spirits, intent on reaching her soul-master. Only to have numerous beasts block her path.

The others had acted without conscious thought. They struck at her with everything they had but it was still not enough to kill her. Zeus joined the fight, Apollo at his side and yet, they were unable to hold her. She drew strength from Kai, draining him of his soul.

"Kai. I won't let her. Look at me, my Phoenix. My Suzaku, look at me. Read my eyes! Now! Damn it! Do it!" Tala made Kai stare directly at him. He forced himself to look into the eyes of his best friend, his roommate, his Phoenix. Kai's eyes were glazed black and with each second, Black Dranzer made him weaker.

"You rejected me. You hate me now. I've gotten so weak. I've got nothing. You're disgusted with me now. You hate me." Kai whispered. Tala bit the inside of his cheek and forced himself to do something painful. He struck Kai, drawing him out of the pit he was digging.

"I have never hated you, Suzaku, never. Read my eyes if you doubt me but I would never hate you. Never intentionally hurt you. Believe me." Tala gingerly wiped away the blood that trailed from the cut he had made.

"Yuriy." Tala nodded and kissed Kai's forehead. "Yuriy, I've forgiven you. Please don't hate me." Kai's eyes began to glow unearthly purple and black as he forced himself to connect with the Dark Suzaku. "What I do now, don't be disgusted."

Kai stood, gazing sadly at Tala. He reached out and brushed a strand of red hair away from Tala's eyes. A gentle smile on his face, he turned those inhumanly-colored eyes toward the fight before them. Tala stood, taking place behind his Phoenix. He flinched when he saw Black Dranzer swipe quite a few beasts away from her. They were all hopelessly fighting against a spirit that was neither alive nor dead. A creation that made him shiver in disgust. He would never be repelled by Kai but this spirit would always make him sick.

"Back away." Kai advanced past the first few beasts with Tala at his heels, the bladers stepping aside to let him pass. Kai smiled kindly but it was off-set by the black and purple swirls in his eyes.

Dark Suzaku paused. She turned to him and screeched. He kept approaching her, though and he made it past Bryan and Spencer, who both looked a little worse for wear. He patted them on the arms and walked closer. Threads of black aura wrapped around him as he reached out to touch the ashes and smoke body.

"Return to me." She shrunk away from him. He advanced on her, the black and purple bands growing. She hissed nastily, turning her attention to the Wolf beside him. She narrowed her eyes at him, black flames burning at her wings. She arched back to strike him down but Kai intercepted. "Remember your place, Dark Suzaku. You will not touch what is mine."

Tala would have blushed at any other time but this was not the time or place. "Kai." He worriedly gripped his forearm. He hated the act of weakness but Kai was the only one to offer any security in this matter.

"She won't, Yuriy." Kai squeezed his hand and then removed it. "You will return to me. Now." He firmly grasped one of her talons and, with an ease that was terrifying in itself, drew her down to him. She shuddered and then the smoke and ash became shadow and darkness. She seemed to fuse with Kai and then collapse into him.

Kai shuddered and doubled over in pain. He let a few harsh breaths escape then stood. There was a brilliant gold aura around him now. Suzaku, brilliant crimson-gold Dranzer, burned away the black and made Kai hard to look at. Then it vanished and Kai looked around.

He met the eyes of his Wolf first, luminous in their azure light. Wolborg returned to his blade first; Tala calling it back to his hand. The others returned to their blades slowly and silence descended. Kai cleared his throat and anyone who hadn't been looking at him, which was no one, turned their attention to him. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes but then someone spoke.

"How long have you had that spirit inside you?" Brooklyn asked as he advanced on Kai and Tala. He stopped in front of the pair. "How long?"

"She's always been inside me. She is a part of Dranzer. The death where Dranzer is the life. But she's not active. I let her loose. Forgive me." Kai met his eyes and then turned to meet everyone else's. "I did not mean to let her show herself to you again."

Kai looked away even as everyone stared at him. He swallowed and crossed his arms. He was expecting their rejection and for a second, it looked like he was going to get it. Then Bryan stepped forward. Kai flinched when Bryan touched him and then his eyes widened in shock when he was hugged.

"Little Suzaku, don't lose yourself again. We missed you." Bryan buried his face in the slate-colored hair and then released him. "We won't hurt you, song-bird."

"You can't get rid of us so easily." Ray said as he came up beside his lover. Others came forward, no one staying behind. The girls were crying horribly and were being comforted by boyfriends and teammates. Mariah broke from Rick as Julia freed herself from her brother and both reached out for him. They wrapped their arms around the taller teen and sobbed quietly into his shoulders. Kai looked lost and looked pleadingly around for help. A few smiles were sent his way. Kai had no clue what to do. So Tala sighed good-naturedly and moved Kai's arms to lightly embrace the sobbing girls around the shoulders. He cast a confused look over his shoulder and then met eyes from across the room.

"Girls, could you let me go?" He directed gently to the Spanish and Chinese girls with their heads buried in his shoulders. They nodded and let go, Mariah stepping back into the white-haired blader's embrace. "Hiro."

Kai stepped through the bladers and advanced on the elder Kinomiya. He tilted his head up to meet the other's eyes. "Can you take over training? I'm not sure if they can blade anymore today but they can do the physical stuff. I'm going home."

"Home?" Tala's voice came from behind him. He turned to the Wolf. "You're home is where? Still with him?" Tala pointed at Brooklyn, who didn't appear fazed or insulted.

"My home's with you." Kai said softly and Tala smiled fiercely. The Wolf did not hesitate to run over to him. He caught Kai's arm and began to freak out.

"Kai's coming home! He's coming home! I don't care if you were mad at me! You're back! I cleaned it up all nice too! The wall's fixed, the paint puddle is gone, the entire place is clean! I even cleaned the mirror above your bed!" Tala drug Kai out of the room even though Kai was resisting. "You're back to stay now! Just try to get away from me!"

"What the hell?! Tala! Let me go! Let me go!"

"Ah, ah, ah. Can't get away! Not letting go! Not letting go!"

* * *

"Maybe it was better when Kai didn't live with him. He's gone insane." Ian said as he sweat-dropped. His captain's manic laughter was bouncing off the hallway walls.

"Tala was always insane. Kai just…brings it out." Spencer said as he turned to face Hiro. "So, coach, what are we doing today?"

"Did you guys forget what just happened here?" Daichi practically shrieked. "Kai just made this black bird appear and disappear out of nowhere! Did you forget that?!"

"Of course not!" Surprisingly enough, Tyson answered. "But so what?! You've seen him. He just apologized to us." Tyson stressed the word "apologized" to get his point across. He then burst out with laughter. "We can hold that over his head for weeks!"

Ray sweat-dropped. "Uh, Tyson? In case you've forgotten, but what happened the last time you did something against Kai?" Everyone suddenly remembered the photo Kai had sent to them. And they threw new enthusiasm into training.

* * *

"When are you going to call and get your stuff sent over?" Tala asked. He had linked his fingers with Kai and refused to let go. Not even when Kai had protested. They were currently seated on their couch, Kai flipping through channels constantly.

"Soon." He said. Tala huffed.

"You just want an excuse to go back to Brooklyn's don't you? You like him more than me." He growled low in his throat. "You do, don't you?!"

Kai sighed. "This is just what I was afraid of. You're clingy." Tala clutched at his heart in despair.

"You do! I never thought I would see the day! The great Tala Ivanov cast aside like used rubbish for an orange-head! Orange of all colors!" Tala made a dramatic act of his turmoil. Kai sweat-dropped.

"Tala. You're wearing orange. It's your favorite color." He said and groaned as Tala stared at him.

"You're right! What's wrong with you! You only go for orange don't you! Addict! I'm so hurt. Oh, to be a redhead." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Tala, you're overreacting." Kai smiled and drew the redhead close. "I only like you." He felt the Wolf stiffen beside him. He looked at the Wolf, surprised to see the azure eyes wide and slightly glistening. "Tala, listen. About the other day. I didn't mean for you to find out that way. I wasn't thinking. And when I left, I knew it was a stupid decision. But I don't want you to hate me."

"I already told you, I can't hate you. You want me to say it every day? You shocked me, to say the least. It was different. I'm not one for being out of control." He leaned his head on Kai's shoulder. "But don't leave like that again. Ever. If you don't want to be here with me, say so. Don't scare me like that. Don't leave like that again."

"I promise I won't. I don't think I can." Kai assured him. He wrapped an arm around the Wolf's shoulders and grinned sheepishly. "Let's just get some sleep. I know it's early but I'm exhausted." He tried to keep it hidden but Tala could see the tired lines on his face.

"I'm not leaving you though." He nodded and helped the Phoenix up, taking most of Kai's light weight with him. The Phoenix swayed dangerously and Tala held him tighter. They helped each other down the hallway. "I fell asleep in your room last night. Don't know how you sleep in there with that mirror…"

"You'd grow to like the mirror. Let's just go to your's though okay?" Kai laughed lightly and smiled as the wolf blushed. It was cute.

Tala let him in and looked around self-consciously. His room was nothing special, a testament to his simplicity. The entire bed was done in shades of blue, the curtains lighter shades, and the dresser was dark woody colors. There was little on the shelves but for a few pictures and old copies of his Wolborg blade. It couldn't be called Spartan but it wasn't the lap of luxury either.

"You've never needed much, have you?" It didn't sound like a question but Tala answered anyway.

"When you haven't had much, you don't expect much." He said slightly miffed. Kai laughed softly, the sound sent chills up his spine. "Besides, how can you talk? Your room is currently emptier than mine."

"You've got me there." Tala smirked. "Now, help me into the bed. It feels like I can't lift my arms let alone maneuver myself into bed."

"Okay, okay." Tala walked him over to it and lifted him up, setting him on the bedspread. Kai sighed contently. He rolled deeper into the bed, Tala's hand still tight in his grasp.

"I want to sleep so all those perverted little fantasies you've got running through your mind will have to wait, huh?" Tala blushed brilliant red. Kai smirked, lazily opening one eye to look at him. Tala was still in shock and how desirable Kai looked at that moment was temporarily pushed to the back of his mind, his own embarrassment taking the forefront.

"Kai!" The bluenette didn't appear disturbed or repentant. He just smirked and pulled on Tala's arm, making him fall onto the bed next to him.

"You're just a big, fluffy dog, you know, Tala." Kai pulled him into the curve of his body, resting his other hand in the red locks.

"You've told me before." He mumbled, a bit embarrassed by all this. Kai was warm though. He pressed his face into Kai's neck and let himself drift off next to him. His grip on the Phoenix tight. He wasn't waking up without him again.

* * *

To Be Continued... So? What do you think? Review! Review! Review! I live off feedback! Just so you know, this was the least objectional way to write this out as...I tipped the supernatural scale a little but...hn...makes a cuter story...Just wait and see what I've got planned next! Muhahahahaha!

Cast of my youthful story - sweatdrop.

Ja ne! -Steal My Soul


	5. V Watermelons and Bets

Yo! It's back! Sorry for the long wait. Chapter Five in't as weird as chapter two and not as serious as chapter four. It's a blend of both. Review and tell me how bad it sucks! Oh, by the way, I'm writing Interludes between some chapters and need ideas. If you see something mentioned in a chapter but has no story, send it to me in a review and I'll write out a story! R&R!

V. Terms and Conditions of Watermelon Suicide

He couldn't remember if he got rid of the mirror and changed his bedspreads or if he was in the wrong bed. Slowly, the day came back to him and he shivered. But, he was here with Tala. Deliciously warm, loveable, sweet and strong Tala. He rolled to the other side of the bed to hold the one who saved him and show him how much he appreciated him.

His arm slid over the lump on the other side of the bed and he went to breath in the redhead's ear. Unfortunately, as all plans are meant to go wrong, and as Murphy's Law dictates, whatever can go wrong, will, Kai found himself mid-way in molesting a green and black stripped fruit. One that had a face reminiscent of a scarecrow's, and was occupying the space that his redhead was supposed to be.

Apparently, Tala had a twisted sense of humor.

"Tala! Dammit, where the hell are you?!" He climbed out of bed and carried the offending fruit with him. He was going to break the thing over Red's head. As soon as he found him. Which he did. And the redhead was sitting, stoic and serious, at the head of the table.

"What the hell is this about?" He dropped the watermelon on the table and glared at the wolf, his arms crossed across his chest.

"This, Kai dear, is about my innocence." And Tala proceeded to a wardrobe-change. He was left staring at a nun-dressed Tala with the biggest blue eyes the wolf could muster. He felt the sweat drop and his knees hit the floor. Where he proceeded to hit his head on the chair leg and mutter.

Tala took this rather calmly before clearing his throat. He had to do it a few times before he had his attention, but he got it. Kai directed his attention to Tala after checking to see if he had any bumps on his head from Tala's fist to the head.

"Anyway, as I was saying, that is about my innocence. Cosmo said that if your partner really cared about you, they won't force or pressure you into anything. The magazine said to wait until it felt right and when you were prepared. It said that it should be this deep spiritual thing that celebrated the fact that you were together instead of being what binds you. I took the quiz, Kai. Did you know that you're the controlling and commanding type? It said that these type of people would be the first to use sex against their partner and I don't want that to be us!"

Kai's eyes had at one point widened until he wasn't sure they could get any bigger. And then they narrowed. "How exactly does a watermelon factor into this?" Trust Tala not to come up front with him about it. And to rely on some girly magazine for all his answers. He was going to kill the person who gave it to him.

"I'm getting to that!" Kai had, on reflex, recoiled out of Tala's way when he shouted. It wasn't his fault that Tala sounded like that when he called out his bit-beast and he had self-preservation instincts. "If you really love me, and you really want to wait until I'm ready, then you'll let Alex sleep with you."

He felt his face pale quite a bit. "Alex who?"

"Alex." Tala pointed to the watermelon which seemed to give him the evil eye. "I named him after you. Cute, huh?"

"I have to let that…thing…sleep with me? As in a bed? With me in it too? Are you serious?" Kai could feel that panic rise. It was an almost out-of-body experience, considering how unbelievable he found the situation.

"I'm completely serious, Kai. If you love me as much as you think you do, you'll let it sleep with you." Tala gathered up his habit and exited stage left. Leaving Kai alone with…Alex.

He sat there staring at it, at a loss of what to do. He felt rage at Tala, for putting him in this situation and doubting how much he loved him. He ignored this, knowing that it was the darkness inside him welling up. He was going to be vulnerable to it for the next few days and he really couldn't handle this situation. But underneath it, he felt hurt, annoyed, upset, amused, irritated and slightly satisfied. He honestly couldn't believe Tala doubted him, but he wasn't going to lose a challenge like this.

He picked up Alex and carried hm to the kitchen, sitting him on the counter and plugging in the toaster. He was digging out his bread when Tala decided to check on him.

"How's it going? Hate me yet?" Tala draped himself on the counter-top and poked the fruit.

"Working on it." He muttered in a sarcastic low tone. "Want some?"

Tala pulled away from making faces at the fruit before grimacing at the dry toast he was offered. He shook his head rapidly as Kai shrugged and bit into the denied slice. He was still chewing on the bread when Tala began to raid the fridge in search of something to eat. He raised a brow at the normal behavior when he cradled the fruit and went into the living room. He deposited the fruit on the couch beside him and began channel surfing, absently munching on the toast.

-X-

Tala glared at the fruit from his place in the doorway. This was going over better than he expected. Kai didn't fight tooth and nail against the idea but complied with the single-focus he usually gave only to a battle. He was making it hard to really tell if he was patiently waiting for Tala to give up or if he was binding his time until he thought Tala was relaxed enough. He chewed on the ragged end of his thumbnail while he thought of a game plan to test Kai. The glare had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that 'Alex' was in HIS spot on the couch. Nothing in the least to do with it.

A Cheshire cat grin spread over his face and he began humming. He had the perfect plan to really put the pressure on. Just wait, he was going to have the bluenette too frustrated to win and he'd be victor. (Tala has either forgotten the actual reason he set up the challenge or has decided that either outcome is acceptable. I, personally, side with the later, but it's up for debate. Sorry for the impromptu author's note and following apology.)

He turned up the volume to the radio, settling on his favorite station and began to fill the tub. He whisked about a billion bottles from under the sink and poured them together like he was mixing moonshine. Or a volatile chemical mixture. One or the other. His manic cackling went unheard except by the towels, tub and radio. And they were frightened out of their poor inanimate bodies.

-X-

Kai glared at the produce in the couch space beside him, shamelessly hissing insults during commercials. The damn thing was the only thing stopping him from chasing after the wolf. That and the conditions having it entailed. Why, oh, why couldn't Tala have put a little faith in his corner for once? Just once? A teeny tiny bit? Who was he kidding? Tala had every right to throw this kind of stunt together. It wasn't like he could protest, in all honesty.

Kai's attention was drawn away from the fruit by the phone and he contemplated the merits of answering. It was going to be one of the teams, checking in on the two of them. He didn't want to talk about yesterday at all. Maybe he could just ignore it and wait until they decided to come to his apartment to check in and then he'd get the more satisfying response of slamming the door in their faces.

"Kai! Answer the damn phone! And be polite about it!" He recovered from his flinch in record time and glared at anything that could protest that he'd been afraid for even a minute. Damn, Tala could be frigging scary when he wanted to.

"Ivanov and Hiwatari. What the hell do you want?" That was polite enough. At least it wasn't his usual response, right?

"Hey, Kai. Just calling to check in. Your bags haven't arrived yet, right?" Brooklyn didn't seem the smallest bit put off. "There's been a few complications here and we had to leave it halfway at Tyson's. You need to pick it up there. Sorry."

"It's fine, Brooklyn. Call me if you need any help with your situation." He didn't quite give a smile but it wasn't a grimace.

"Okay, Kai. Goodbye." Brooklyn hung up and Kai listened to the dial tone sound for a bit before dropping the receiver onto the cradle. He sighed and went back into the living room. The channel had changed but the remote was still on the opposite end of the couch where he placed it. He scowled suspiciously at the watermelon before perching reluctantly on the far end. He changed the channel back and decided, for the sake of his cherished sanity, to write it off as coincidence.

-X-

Tala grinned at his reflection as he wiped the mirror clean. He'd been in here for some time but it had been worth it. His skin was that light peachy color rather than cool white and his hair was loose around his shoulders. He ruffled it a few times to give it a 'just woke up' look and pulled on his other clothes. The orange faded t-shirt was overly large and nearly slipped over one shoulder and the dark grey silky sweats hung low on his hips. He rubbed the towel over his hair a few more times before leaving the bathroom.

He shivered in the air conditioned room before walking by the living room to the kitchen. He held in his smirk and tried to project an innocent and reserved figure, hoping to be the best temptation he could. He made it down the small hallway and to the kitchen without any sound other than the television. Inwardly fuming, he backtracked and waited in the hall. Nothing. Not even a sigh. He tapped his foot impatiently, a storm cloud broiling in the air above him. He stalked into the living room, insults on his tongue and hands on his hips. Only to be given a droll stare by the sofa cushions. And…Alex.

"But where's Kai gone?" He mumbled absently, feeling slightly lost and bewildered. He picked up the note from the table to help understand why his phoenix was missing. He was picking up his furniture. Which by the way, would have never left the apartment if he hadn't jumped on him, which wouldn't have made Tala spaz, which would have ended in Kai's stuff still being here and he would be panting after him. That inconsiderate bastard!

Well, he'd just have to make things harder now, wouldn't he? He scowled at the watermelon and stuck out his tongue. He'd make Kai lose this little game and still win in the end.

-X-

"They left it back here. Do you need any help?"

He took the droll stare as a no.

"I was just asking." Tyson shrugged and stood aside to let Kai through. "Brooklyn left a note for you, too. Here." He handed the slip to Kai as he passed and waved absently behind him. "See ya later, Kai."

"Hn." He slid the paper into his pocket and began to lift bags and boxes. The precarious stack was carried to his limo and was repeated a few times until Tyson's storage was emptied of his belongings. The driver pulled out and he took the note out of his pocket.

"Take a left at this light and continue on, until you reach this address." He sat back in his seat to watch the traffic. "Thanks for the tip, Brooklyn." He murmured with a small smirk.

-X-

"So, that's the last you heard of him?" Tala pouted into the phone and his shoulders slumped.

"Yeah. He didn't say where he was going but Brooklyn left a note. I didn't read it but maybe it has something to do with it." Tyson sounded anxious and concerned. It was comforting to know that the jelly dragon couldn't lie. So, Kai had just ditched him. Yippee!

"Thanks, Tyson. Just…Call me back if you hear from him." Tala listened to half the dragon's response before he dropped the phone on the counter.

So much for making him work for it. He gives Kai a challenge and what does the bluenette do? He leaves him to deal with it. The bluenette had basically given up and forfeited the challenge. So, that meant he'd won. But why was the taste so bitter? Was it because he'd done nothing but sit in the tub and then on the counter in a Lolita dress?

He slammed his door shut and locked it. He dropped back against the frame and decided to wait. When Kai came back, if he came back in the first place, he'd discover just how much he'd missed out on. Namely, one fun night with a watermelon.

-X-

"Tala? Can you help me with this?" He dropped what he was carrying in the living room, growled at the smirking watermelon and knocked on Tala's door. "Hey, Tal? I need some help moving my stuff into my room."

"Go. Away. I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. To. You." Each word punctuated with a fist slammed on the wood.

"C'mon, Tal, what did I do? I've been gone all day."

The door whirled open and an angry face framed in sweeping red hair filled his vision. His scarf was gripped as he was pulled even to the redhead. "Exactly." He growled. "You've been gone. All. Day. And I was left here. All. Day. And you flaked on a deal between us. You obviously don't care enough about my feelings, and all that matters to you must be the fact that I'm good eye candy and can calm you down."

Kai was momentarily stunned into quiet submission, the livid rage and anger displayed for all to see. Looking back, he obviously didn't take this seriously. No wonder the wolf was so mad.

"I expected a little courtesy. I expected the person I'm dating to take what I feel and think into consideration. I don't want you to think of this as a game. I wanted you to take me seriously, regardless of how ridiculous it sounds. If you can't do that, then I don't want to do this. If it's just an itch, scratch it elsewhere." He dropped his fistful and slammed the door in his face.

He stared blankly at the door. His mind sent the memo to pick up his jaw but he wasn't sure it was received. In fact, he was pretty sure all upper cranial functions, aside from breathing, had ceased. His hands pressed into the frame and he gripped it tight, his head falling forward to softly bump the wood. He felt winded and so very, very stupid. If he knew one thing about Tala, it was that he loved stupid games with ridiculous terms and conditions, and that the redhead took them seriously. If he had to screw up one thing a day, why did it have to be this?

There had to be a way to fix it. He'd just have to find it. And still stick to the terms he'd flaunted negligently. He pushed away from the frame to dump his junk into his bedroom and he left it there to go pick up Alex.

-X-

"Are you sure that we can't come over today?" Ray sounded desperate and annoyed. Usual tones for a tiger who'd been denied access into the Fifteenth Floor apartment.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll take care of it." His voice sounded clipped and hard, banking no argument. He heard the tiger sigh and murmur a goodbye. He ignored the faint feel of guilt and set it aside later for future study and to bottle it up along with the rest of them.

He scratched at the mark on his cheek absently as he tried to figure out how to get the redhead out of his room. He was still angry and hadn't left the room the entire night. Kai knew because he'd spent the night out on the couch with Alex. He wasn't desperate to apologize. Honestly, he wasn't. He was just…anxious to prove to the redhead that he took him seriously. He wanted to show Tala just how much this meant to him.

-X-

"Can I just say something in my defense? I didn't want to be so harsh. I know I can be stupid and stuff, but I thought he'd take it seriously. He acted like he did, though. That's what really bothered me. He accepted it and then flaked. That's what hurt me the most. I thought he cared." Tala glanced back up at his blade and the wolf bit glowed briefly. "Thanks for the reassurance."

He sighed and buried deeper into the bedding and sighed. "Why'd he have to leave and why couldn't he tell me he was going? I wouldn't have been so mad if he just told me and then called later if he was going to be late."

The bedding was more understanding than the bathroom accessories in love troubles. Must have been because most relationships were explored in the bedroom rather than the bathroom. Or so he figured. Anyway, it felt warmer and soothing in the caverns of his bed. It gave him a clearer mind to think this mess through.

Did he care for Kai? Yes. Did he still want to do this? Yes. Did he want Kai to take him seriously? Absolutely. Did he have any idea how he was going to accomplish this without seeming desperate and needy? Not at all. Could Kai come through with a plan to salvage this semi-hearted relationship that could be more than two friends trying out something new but two people who obviously had deeper feelings and trusted one another? Maybe. Probably. Most likely. Hopefully. Who was he kidding? Kai wasn't going to try so why should he?

And yet, he still couldn't get past it. Where did he go wrong?

-X-

"Tala?" He knocked softly on the door and waited, nerves twisted together revoltingly. He would never know where he got the nerve to do this, but if this is what it took, then so be it. It was just his pride at stake right? And his reputation. And any credibility as a sane person. But what did any of that matter in the face of true love?

He heard the quiet tread to the door and the handle twist. He shifted his weight and wrung his hands together, taking a deep breath before the plunge. He heard the door hit the wall and felt his face heat up.

"Kai?" He darted a quick glance to the shocked redhead's face and then back to the floor.

"Uh, hey, Tal. How's it, uh, going?" He wrung his hands together before trying to let his training take over and to hide his feelings.

"Kai? What are you doing?" Tala's hand reached up to the strap on his shoulder and Kai flinched briefly before relaxing.

"Well, I didn't take the first challenge seriously. I thought I should make it up to you and one thing led to another and this happened. I thought it'd be a bit better than what you had at first and it'd top off my humiliation." He began to wring his hands together again regardless. He chanced a glance up at Tala and saw the shock.

"If this won't work, could you please tell me what I can do? I want to show you how seriously I take this and I take you. If I have to do something ridiculous and stupid, then I'll do it." Kai was aware of a flash of red and then a warm heat wrapped around his middle.

"Kai, you're a stupid bastard." Tala whispered into the fabric and hugged him tighter. "This will definitely make up for it. How far did you walk to here?"

"From the store." Kai felt the blood pool in his face again and Tala pull back. "I made a few stops on the way. One for photos and another for this."

He maneuvered around the various straps and pockets to reach his blade pouch. He slid out the thick chain and pressed it into Tala's hand.

He lifted it up and studied the silver chain. It was twined around a few snowflakes and clasped in the back. It was a simple chain but it was so precious and it meant so much to him that Kai bought it gussied up as he was. He smiled softly at the idiot blader blushing profusely. Kai could be so sweet.

He unhooked it and placed it around his neck, securing it together. He spun it the right way and then looked Kai over. He was wearing the baby carrying pouch over his back and Alex secured safely behind him. A variety of baby items were placed in cute giraffe covered pouches. The blader never looked more ridiculous and adorable than ever. He was chewing his lip and darting glances between Tala and the floor.

"Why'd you stop for photos?" He asked softly. Kai began to scratch the back of his neck. This was definitely a new look.

"I thought it'd be a faster way to circulate my apology. I'm pretty sure that they'll be in the blader magazines tomorrow. I figure they'll be wrote off as scams though."

"I bet." He muttered, taking a firm look at the idiot before him. He smirked and shook his head. And he was worried. Stupid him.

"So, how about it? Forgive me yet?" Kai's eyes met his and they stared at each other for a bit. Then Tala nodded and he sighed in relief. "So I can take this off, huh?"

"Not yet." Tala smirked again and took a hand under the shoulder strap. He pushed him backwards through the living room and out towards the balcony. "I've got a little something to take care of and I need you to do it."

He paused long enough to slide the glass door open and push Kai out into the slightly chilly air. It was definitely cooler at pre-twilight. Kai looked out and then back at him with a confused and bemused expression. He grinned and began to tear the baby supplies off Kai's waist. He smiled lecherously as he began to strip the baby pouch and Alex from Kai's back.

"Hey! Careful with that." He grabbed Alex before he could splatter on the ground. Tala scowled and picked the thing out of Kai's arms.

"Let's pretend that I never made those rules, I never made this stupid doll and you never saw this." He proceeded to place Alex precariously on the ledge and tip it over. He watched with a pleased Cheshire cat grin as Kai stared at it in disbelief and watch it fall. Thankfully, it didn't hit a single soul but made a rather beautiful splatter mark on the ground, fifteen stories below.

"Tala! Look what you've done! You've killed him! You killed Alex! You murderer!" He ran past the gaping redhead and out the apartment. He returned half an hour later with a box filled with watermelon pieces. He looked rather…upset to say the least.

"Uh, Kai?"

"Yes, Tala?"

"Are you going to be okay?" He studied the bluenette curiously. "What are you doing with that?"

"We, Tala, are going to have a funeral for Alex. I can't believe you pushed him off the balcony. I thought you had a bigger heart than that." Kai glared at him as he placed the box on the kitchen counter. Tala intelligently neglected to mention the watermelon juice that had followed him in and began to puddle on the counter.

"A funeral?" He asked through a disbelieving cough. "Are you serious?"

"I'm perfectly serious, Tala. Don't worry, I've already paid for it and everything." Kai stated matter of factly and placed his hands on his hips. Tala raised a brow in surprise and felt the nagging feeling that Kai was being serious.

"You sure?"

"What's wrong, Tala? Upset because you can't pay or that I'm paying for a funeral for the poor child you murdered?" Kai smirked and even through the amusement he looked strict and commanding.

"I'm not upset!" He sputtered through the denial and the irritation. Why was Kai being so irrational? Was there something in the water in this place?

Kai slunk forward and placed a hand on either side of his waist. He absently noticed that Kai smelled strongly of watermelon and felt that irrational spike shoot through him. Okay, so maybe he was a bit jealous of the attention Kai was lavishing on the destroyed fruit.

"Maybe not, but you were jealous. You were the one that started this mess and specified that it had to sleep in bed with me. I was the idiot who lost it because I was stupid. I am also the idiot who dressed up in baby gear. But you were the idiot who got jealous over fruit." Kai pressed a kiss into his jaw line and pulled back to smile.

"I was not jealous! Especially of that fruit!"

"Then why throw it over?" He grinned as Tala lost momentum. His face went serious as he cupped Tala's face between his hands. "We're doing things your way. How ever you want it, whatever you want. And if I screw it up too bad, I'll buy another watermelon and we'll throw it over the balcony and I'll buy you something sparkly."

"Oh, delicate heart of mine be strong." He intoned sarcastically. "Is that how we're going to solve everything?"

"Maybe." Kai grinned and brushed an imaginary triangle on his chin.

"Great. I'll be rich and you'll be broke before the week's over." Tala tilted his head to meet Kai's eyes and bump their foreheads together. "So, starting over?"

"Yep. But tonight, you're in my bed."

"But you lost."

"I'm not going to do anything. I know I lost. I'm more than happy to be the loser in this instance." He pulled back a bit. "If you think you can lead."

Tala pulled him down, nuzzled his chin and pushed him away. "Get in line, bitch, and follow me." He bit the skin on his neck and licked it teasingly.

"As you command, master." Kai grinned mockingly and let Tala pull his scarf away and tie his hands together, leading him down the hallway.

"You're cleaning the kitchen up, by the way, because I sure as hell not going to." Tala cast a final look to the puddle of watermelon juice and seeds dripping off the counter and onto the floor. He waited until he'd shoved Kai into the bedroom before sticking his tongue out and leering mockingly at the watermelon.

"I win."


	6. 1 Pod People and Homeless Teenagers

Yo! Anyone home? Finally updated! Little filler to keep people happy while I mix up the next chapter! The original storyline went kaput and I'm stuck having to recreate Stubborn Pride and Insanity from scratch. We will carry on, though it will still be a while. Please enjoy! All criticisms are welcomed! Standard Disclaimer: Apply Here! Oh! Interludes have a storyline all to themselves and will be kinda-sorta independent to the main storyline. Sometimes flashbacks and sometimes flashforwards. Only the muses know and they aren't telling!

* * *

Interlude I

A (Not-So) Brief Tale regarding the Apartments, Pod People, and Homeless Teenagers

(Script Form - Brief)

Time: After the Championships and BEGA, about seven months

Place: Tyson's Dojo

Scene: All the bladers are hanging around, lounging, watching television, sleeping, just in general, a lazy attitude. The movie ends and several stretch, Tyson glancing around at the people in his living room and other places. He stares briefly at Ray and Bryan sleeping in a love seat. He seems to have something on his mind.

Tyson: Hey. I was just thinking-

Hilary: And all intelligent life on this planet is stunned.

Tyson: Shut it, Hilary! Anyway! I was thinking…Why is everyone staying at my house?

(The group, those conscious anyway, sweat-drop)

Tyson: What?

Garland: Are you serious?

Kenny: (Looks over at Tyson and then back to Garland) He's serious.

(Those still conscious and or paying attention groan. Tala however claps his hands and stands up.)

Tala: Okay then! It's story time! Everybody make a circle!

(They stare at him for a moment and then ignore him. He sweat drops, scowls and pulls out his launcher. He points it at the ceiling and fires it. This immediately catches everyone's attention, except for Bryan and Ray who are still sleeping.)

Tala: What? Did you think it was just for show? (He grins, satisfied, as they begin to make a circle at his prompt.) Now then, I'm going to tell the story of why we're all staying at Tyson's place…

Kai: (Interrupting Tala) We're here because they broke my house, the Tiger seduced the Falcon and I'm too "stingy" to pay for room and board at an apartment complex or a hotel.

(Tala stares at him in his spot away from the circle. The group is beginning to break up and go back to what they're doing. Tala growls and points his shooter at Kai. He shoots and Kai falls over, bloody and groaning.

Tala: Now then, gather round and listen to the story! (He grins and menacingly pats his shooter. They comply and dart nervous glances back to Kai, slowly bleeding on the floor.)

It all started yesterday when I was watching the television…

(Script Style End, Third Person Point of View)

"There's been another earthquake along the San Andres Fault line. 300 people were trapped in a bus in Peru. Some hurricane wiped out some Indonesian islands. Tornadoes destroyed thousands of homes in Oklahoma. Some kids were kidnapped. Some scary clown was arrested and finally, some freaky lights show up in the sky above Denver." Tala pressed another button, reading the scrolling words at the top of the screen, albeit not in the precise wording.

He was alone, the television didn't count, and he was bored. Bad things tended to happen when these conditions persisted. Kai was still trying to figure out why only each third step in his house had been painted blue. And where his chandelier had gone. And why only the mirrors in the bathrooms were covered in black paint.

"People gather around to watch the demolition of the treasured children's home that once housed over one thousand orphans. The children were moved to another compound but those who grew up here will never forget the two people who shared their home with them." Tala was counting ceiling tiles and balancing the remote on his finger. He wasn't really paying much attention, only turning back to the TV when he heard the countdown.

He caught the remote and watched the demolition begin. The resulting explosion was very satisfying. He smirked at the rubble and ruin and couldn't help but feel immense delight. He loved watching things go from order to chaos. From beauty to ugliness. It was really something to watch.

He ignored the rest of the broadcast and instead, turned to look over the end of the couch. "Oh, Kaisy? Would it bother you terribly if I happened to do a little experiment? No?! What's that you say? The explosive chemicals you have in the basement from your grandfather's evil days are in the locked fridge and the key's in your dresser? Why how helpful!" His mouth split into an evil grin, and he casually tossed the remote into the bowl of chips on the low table.

Explosions. A large house in desperate need of repair. If you added it up, it honestly was a blessing that he'd thought of the plan. And since he was all alone in this big, scary place, why couldn't he express to Kai his gratitude for letting them stay?

He hummed his own personal theme song and slid down the shadowed hallways and up to Kai's room. It wasn't hard to miss. The pompous bird had his own likeness carved into the wood. And, he knew the way to get there without being seen by the cameras Kai was paranoid to have in his hallway. Kai couldn't have made a bigger target for shameless graffiti if he tried. He pulled out his lock pick and in three seconds he was inside. The clown-painted Kai door closed behind him.

"Kaisy, you make this too easy." He looked at the bed he absolutely loved even though the mirror above it creeped him out. Just how in love with himself was the bird? He hopped on the plush mattress a few times, screwing with the bird's immaculate black sheets. They were nicely ruffled when he moved to the dresser and began pulling open drawers. Pages of notebooks, pens, knickknacks, a few rocks, and more useless crap. He pulled the drawer out completely and dumped crap out to look for hidden compartments.

He found some, but there were only a few things inside. Souvenirs from the countries he'd visited that were surprisingly girly, a few crumpled up pages with half-written poetry, some artwork, a few letters that were highly suspicious because they were written in code, and some photos of each team they'd faced. He pulled the oddly worn picture from the bottom of the stack, red marker from the back staining the picture. It was the Demolition Boys before Kai had left and returned to them. They were in their training uniforms and Kai was actually smiling. He was blushing heavily, and had been half hidden behind Kai. It was before they'd been selected to take the advanced training.

"Where did all the years go?" He flipped to the back and read the writing. "'Me and Yuriy. Before the pain and lies, but after our fist kiss.' Damn, I still remember that. Never mind that we were five. Who would have thought he'd keep a picture?" He set it aside carefully, and rethought it. He stuck it to Kai's mirror above his bed. "Now where was I?"

He'd found the key several minutes later, buried under the dresser and in its own locked compartment. He scooted out from under it and held up his trophy. He cast a shrug at the chaos he left behind, cackling without worry as he exited and waved to the cameras. He had what he needed now. It was time to plot and plan, set it up and then watch the fireworks. He still had hours before Kai would show back up. Bryan, Spencer and Ian would be back soon. It wouldn't take much to convince them that it was a profitable venture. Really simple.

Okay maybe not so simple. Why couldn't they see the genius in planting the explosives in the driveway and letting it blow up Kai's prized fountain? What would be better than that? Answer, nothing. And he was their captain, damn it!

"Aw, come on, please, please, please, please, please? It won't be fun if I do it all by myself. Please? Pretty please with sugar and cherries and whipped cream and strawberry sauce and chocolate sprinkles and candy sprinkles and sprinkles that snap in your mouth and sprinkles that are green and sprinkles that are vanilla and-"

"For heaven's sake Tala! Shut Up!" Bryan's ever so short temper exploded. It was honestly hard to believe that this whimpering, begging, pleading, puppy-eyed mass of goo was their fearsome and terrible captain. Tala clung even harder to Spencer's leg; looking for the entire world like that someone had murdered an entire pack of puppies and kittens in front of him and was now looking to tease him about it.

"Tala, it's not that we don't want to help, but this isn't the best idea. How would we escape if we destroy the exit? What we need to do is destroy something vital. Strike one of his resources." Spencer pulled Tala up and off and patiently explained to him the flaws off his plan.

"Like his fridge or something?" The honestly confused expression on his face was enough to make sweat drops appear on three of the four. Tala being the exclusion. Duh.

"No, no, Tala, like his heat, or electricity. Or his water."

"Water, huh?" He cupped his chin on one palm, taking a thoughtful pout on his face. "How would we go about taking out his water supply with explosions?"

"Well, Tala, we were thinking it would go something like this…" Spencer, Bryan and Ian moved together into a huddle, dragging Tala into it as he stood off to the side.

-X-

"So, I'm supposed to believe that you've done nothing all day and you've behaved all morning. Without any supervision at all?"

"Yes, mother. I've been behave all day. And I'm shocked that you don't think so." He rolled his eyes at the disbelieving glare Kai cast him. "Would you like to check the security cameras I know you have hidden in your house, you paranoid schizo?"

"Yes. I think I should." Kai left the living room, Tala's eyes following him as he exited.

Too bad he changed the tapes with some modified copies. Silly Kai, security cameras were for amateurs. He cackled menacingly as he checked his watch and began to make his way out to the front lawn. Spencer was sitting out in some cheap lawn chairs they dug out of Kai's garage and sipping some fruity drink with a pineapple slice and cherry on the rim. Ian and Bryan were on either of his side, with a chair open for him on Bryan's left. He was handed a fruity drink and they sat back to watch the fireworks.

"A toast to our genius and untimely demise because I'm pretty sure he's going to kill us." Ian held out his fruity smoothie and looked at each solemnly.

"Here, here." They clanged their glasses together with a definitive cling. And not even a second later, the entire house and grounds began to shake. The sprinkler system burst first and completely soaked them before they could enjoy the fruity delights.

Next to erupt was the plumbing system inside the house, showering the room the pipes went through with water, including the room in which Kai was currently viewing the security tapes. They had burst out of the walls from the pressure and the hallway he began to run down looked like something out of a water park. He reached the end of the hall and wrenched open the window that faced the front of his manor.

"Tala! When I get out of here, all four of you are going to die slow and painful deaths! I promise you!" He was leaned out the window, half his body hanging out of the second story and looking like a drowning victim. They were cackling and doubled over in their fits of laughter. He felt his irritation swell to even greater heights as he slammed the window shut and took off towards the staircase. Unfortunately, the pipes seemed to converge and split at the wall behind the staircase and all seemed to have burst the walls.

The staircase seemed to be a hazardous water slide with the potential to break more than one bone if you happened to fall down it. Kai warily clung to the banister to climb down the stairs, the current tugging at his pants and soaking his clothes as he slipped briefly. His knees hit the stairs and he hooked his arm around the banister to prevent himself from falling the rest of the way. He stumbled down the rest of the stairs and toward the door, wrenching it open and letting loose a torrent of water onto the saturated front lawn.

He only walked five paces towards them before he was struck in the face by a stray jet of water from the sprinkler. He sputtered curses and insults and brought his arms up to guard his face. A lost cause as his triangles had already began to run and tinted his lower face a light shade of royal blue. He made it past the death row of sprinklers to the safe area by the driveway and his age-old fountain. He stripped off the heavy water soaked scarf and jacket and tossed them on the marble fountain ledge.

"You are dead!" He roared at the four laughing teens trying very hard not to completely collapse from laughing. "I leave the house for a few hours and you blow it up! You friggin idiots! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I graciously put up with you morons and give you free room and board and all I asked was to cut back on the bored insane experiments and schemes! Is this any way to show gratitude? I should throw your ungrateful asses out on the streets and let you suffer! I mean, look at my house!"

And they did. It was completely swamped and flooded with water. It wouldn't have been much of a practical joke if the staff had been on duty today, but as they weren't it had to be the best thing they'd ever done. The look on Kai's face as he leaned out the window was priceless, and the look on his face now was equally as priceless. He looked like a waterlogged cockatiel especially with the way his hair seemed to spike in every direction. It didn't help that half his face was blue and the other half was flushed red with anger. He looked like a badly costumed clown.

"How am I going to explain this to insurance?! How am I going to explain this to anyone without coming off as insane?" As Kai spoke, the fountain began to shudder, a thing which the four he was threatening noticed but to which he remained oblivious. "Well, I hope you are happy because this will be the last brainless stunt you will ever pull!"

At this point, it seemed the fountain disagreed. Water erupted from it, breaking the constraints and turning it into a geyser of water and marble pieces. Kai was hit head on by this epic eruption and once more drenched. He retreated and watched in horror as it continued to shoot water higher into the air, reaching near fifteen feet height. It rained down on all of them, and the other four couldn't contain their moderately suppressed laughter. Kai, however, couldn't seem to find the humor in the situation.

He stormed off, toward the back of the house, without taking a look back or losing the irritated set of his shoulders. They watched him leave, feeling the last bit of the spontaneous laughter drift away but the satisfied feelings remained.

"So, think I should help him shut the water off?" Tala looked up from wringing his jacket out and up at them.

"Yeah. It'll be better than to let him sit and stew. Want us to help you too?" Bryan tried to ruffle the matted feathers around his jacket's collar.

"Nah. I've got it covered."

"Good luck." Spencer muttered after him, absently waving a hand in his general direction. He seemed too preoccupied with helping Ian out of the mud hole he had sank thigh deep into.

He caught up to Kai and followed him to the independent valve system back in the gardener's shack. Kai had ignored him as he trailed behind, hands casually crossed behind his head. The small little shack had apparently been spared from the tortures of the larger house but the same could not be said of another room, still filling with water, to which none of the five were even conscious of. This would be brought to their attention very shortly.

"Turn that valve." Kai pointed to a bright red iron wheel on the right side of the room, while he went to attend with the blue valve on the other.

"Aye, aye, captain! Batten down the hatches! Dive! Dive! Dive!" He attacked the wheel with gusto, mistakenly rotating the wheel the wrong direction. The fountain shot water to a steady fifteen and plus height. It continued to rise as he continued to spin, three sets of eyes watching this in wonder.

"Tala! You dumbass! Turn it the other way! The other way!" Kai came over and began to turn the wheel the opposite direction. Tala, apparently missing this outburst, protested and grabbed the other end.

"No, it's the other way!" He held it in place as Kai fought to turn it his way.

"It's this way!"

"No, it's this way!"

"This way!"

"This way!"

"Tala, it's this way!"

"Kai, it's this way!"

Unbeknownst to them, their arguing caused the fountain water levels to adjust accordingly, a geyser of rising and falling liquid, remotely similar the indicators on a stereo.

"It's this way!" Kai twisted it his way and held it still, nodding to the words on the handle. Tala read them mostly out of protest and sweat-dropped as it indicated Kai's way as the correct. He kept silent as he felt Kai's smirk on him but began to spin it in the correct direction.

"So, uh, about this whole thing, you're not still mad are you?" He ventured nervously as Kai began walking out of the shack.

He gave him a hard glare, raising an eyebrow in the way of silently asking if he were serious. At Tala's forlorn and nervous expression, he surmised that he was indeed serious. "Tala, you've just drowned my house and now you're asking if I'm mad?"

It sounded an awful lot like a rhetorical question but Tala chose to nod furiously anyway. Kai sighed, rubbed his temples, flipped him off and left the shack all in the space of time it took for Tala's smile to falter and a waterfall of tears cascade down his face. So, Kai was angry…

"You didn't happen to get the stick up your ass out yet, huh, Kai?" The bluenette flipped the falcon off too as he strode back to them to collect his jacket and scarf. He dumped his coat open and pulled out a vacuum-sealed cell phone. He ignored the odd looks as he tore open the plastic and tossed his ruined cell into the fabric mess.

"It always pays to be prepared." He murmured as he dialed, turning to see Tala slowly making his way back over to them.

"Who are you calling, anyway?"

"A sane person. Hopefully." He turned his back to them and grabbed the end of his skin tight dark purple tank. He wrinkled his nose as it peeled away, making his skin cold.

"Kai, what the hell are you calling for?"

"I'm great Rei, thanks for asking, oh and have you seen the weather today?" He scowled, knowing full well that the tiger couldn't see him but felling better all the same. "If I wasn't so pissed at these morons I think I'd be pissed at you, but right now I'm just thankful you picked up at all."

"That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. So, what did you need Kai?"

"I need a place to stay that's pet friendly. These idiots flooded my house and I need you to let Tyson know we're coming over."

"I'm not sure if Ty has enough room for all five of you…Not to mention how many we've got here already…"

"How many people are staying with Tyson?"

"Just about everybody but Neoborg, though I take it that's about to change…"

"Yeah. Just tell him we're coming over…"

"No sweat, Kai. Later."

Kai held the phone to his ear for a minute longer, not liking where this was going. If Tyson was over-booked so to say, then he'd be bunking up with quite a few other people. Something he was not looking forward to.

"Well, dammit." Kai's head slumped forward. The other four were miraculously silent. "We're staying at Tyson's until I can figure out where to go from there."

"Yippee. Living with the human tornado, vacuum cleaner and trash bin plus all the assholes of the other teams. Party." Spencer droned boredly.

"Need I remind you that we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if you four hadn't gone all monsoon season on my house? It looks like a stunt house from Jumanji." He wrinkled his nose in distaste, making the odd coloring more prominent. Ian stifled back a giggle.

"So, what, now?"

"Now, we get some dry crap, take a car, and hit Tyson's. I'll call someone to get my house fixed." The four sets of eyebrows rose in surprise. Kai wasn't nearly as harsh about this as he had seemed like he would be. Maybe Tala did do something, but our redhead knows fully well that Kai's leniency was in no way inspired by himself. So, naturally, this had to be a pod person that had replaced the real Kai while they had been in the shack. Obviously.


End file.
